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GEORGE WASHINGTON 



Inventor and Promoter of the Useful Arts. 



AN ADDRESS 

DEI.IVERED AT 

IVIount Vernon, April lo, 1891, 

j/M/fONER, M. D. /'usw.f;.. 




Reprint from 

Proceedings of the Patent Centenniai^ Congress 

Held in Washiugtou, D. C, 1S91. 



i SEP 16 1892 



WASHINGTON, D. C: 

Press of Gedney & Roberts Co. 

1892. 



\ 



B3IZ 

■ II 
■T6>& 



Copyright by J. M. Tonkr, M. D. 



GKNERAIv WASHINGTON AS AN INVENTOR AND 
PROMOTER OF THE USEFUL ARTS. 

An Address dei,ivered at Mount Vernon, Aprii, io, 1891, by J. 
M. Toner, M. D., on the occasion oe the Visit of the 
Officers and Members of the Patent Centenniai, Cei^e- 
bration. 



It is fitting that on an occasion like the present, which re- 
views a past and forecasts a coming century, the friends of the 
great American Patent System- should visit the tomb of Wash- 
ington. For where rest the ashes, hovers, methinks, something 
of the spirit of the man whose genius and valor led the thirteen 
dependent American colonies^ to independence; and whose influ- 
ence, a century ago, formed them into one united Federal Gov- 
ernment under a written constitution of exceeding wisdom, of 
which he was one of the principal authors, and under which 
our country, our patent system and our mechanical inventions 
have made such marvelous progress. 

If it cannot be claimed that Washington originated the idea 
of recognizing property in inventions, he was, without doubt, 
the chief exponent of the views and sentiments which brought 
together the convention of delegates from the several States to 
consider their future well-being and to form a more perfect 
Union. ^ 

1 New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New 
York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North 
Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia. 

2 Washington, from his position at the head of the army throughout 
the war for independence, and his frequent correspondence with the 
Governors of the States as well as with many of the more influential 
citizens of the several States, in the interest of the army and to secure 
supplies for the soldiers, was led to a more intimate knowledge of the 
feeling of the people, and to see the weakness of the confederacy more 
clearly than any other man of his day. Its want of cohesive as well as want 
of coercive power had, to his mind, demonstrated its defects for national 
purposes. After peace was restored its want of power to regulate 
commerce — foreign and domestic ; to make treaties, and to provide for 



4 GEORGE WASHINGTON, INVENTOR 

By a unanimous desire of the convention General Washing- 
ton was called upon to preside over the meeting. Through 
the protracted and careful deliberations of this equal-rights and 
liberty-loving conclave of statesmen was evolved our written 
Constitution which has welded the United States into a nation, 
and which has so admirably served us for a century. 3 This, 



the payment of debts contracted by the confederacy, was notorious and 
created great discontent. It was becoming evident to thinking men that 
an alarming crisis was near unless some effectual remedy could be 
devised. Washington's sentiments were often freely and strongly ex- 
pressed upon the subject. "That we have it in our power," said he, " to 
become one of the most respectable nations upon earth, admits, in my 
humble opinion, of no doubt, if we would but pursue a wise, just and 
liberal policy towards one another, and keep good faith with the rest of 
the world. That our resources are ample and increasing, none can deny ; 
but while they are grudgingly applied, or not applied at all, we give a 
vital stab to public faith, and shall sink, in the eyes of Europe, into con- 
tempt. It has long been a speculative question among philosophers and 
wise men whether foreign commerce is of real advantage to any country ; 
that is, whether the luxury, effeminacy and corruptions which are in- 
troduced along with it are counterbalanced by the conveniences and 
wealth which it brings. But the decision of this question is of very little 
importance to us. We have abundant reason to be convinced that the 
spirit of trade which pervades these states is not to be restrained. It be- 
hooves us, then, to establish just principles, and this cannot, any more 
than other matters of national concern, be done by thirteen heads differ- 
ently constructed and organized. The necessity, therefore, of a control- 
ing power is obvious, and why it should be withheld is beyond my com- 
prehension." 

The union, as at first organized, was fast losing respect, as it did not 
meet the exigencies or fulfill its purposes ; and chaos was inevitable, unless 
reform was speedily effected. The mode of doing this engaged Wash- 
ington's attention, and to him more than to any other man are we indebted 
for the Constitution which has united the States as one great union. 

3 Sparks, in commenting upon this period of Washington's life and his 
part in the evolution of the Constitution, says : "He did not go to the 
convention unprepared for the great work there to be undertaken. His 
knowledge of the institutions of his own country and of its political 
forms, both in their general character and minute and affiliated relations, 
gained by inquiry and long experience, was probably as complete as that 
of any other man. But he was not satisfied with this alone. He read 
the history and examined the principles of the ancient and modern con 
federacies. There is a paper in his handwriting which contains an ab- 
stract of each, and in which are noted, in a methodical order, their 



AND PATRON OF THE USEFUL ARTS. 5 

our magna charia, may be claimed as one of the most original 
and beneficent inventions in the art of government ever devised 
to secure to a people liberty, regulated by law, with equal jus- 
tice to all/ 

chief characteristics, the kinds of authority they possessed, their modes 
of operation and their defects. The confederacies analyzed in this paper 
are the Lycian, Amphictyonic, Achaean, Helvetic, Belgic and Germanic. 
He also read the standard works on general politics and the science of 
government, abridging parts of them, according to his usual practice, 
that he might impress the essential points more deeply on his mind. He 
was apprehensive that the delegates might come together fettered with 
instructions which would embarrass and retard, if not defeat the salutary 
end proposed. ' My wish is, ' said he, ' that the convention may adopt 
no temporizing expedients, but probe the defects of the constitution to 
the bottom and provide a radical cure, whether they are agreed to or not. 
A conduct of this kind will stamp wisdom and dignity on their pro- 
ceedings, and hold up a light which sooner or later will have its influ- 
ence.' Such were the preparations and such the sentiments with which 
Washington went to the convention." (Sparks' Washington, vol. I, 
p. 434-) 

4 The attention which the Continental Congress, in the Declaration of 
Independence and the notable occurrences of the Revolution, merited 
and received from historians, biographers and painters, has been so 
absorbing as in a measure to obscure or cause to be overlooked the his- 
tory and personnel of the equally important convention of. 1787, which 
drafted the Constitution of the United States. The claims of these states- 
men to the grateful remembrance of posterity, if judged from a proper 
estimate of the happy Constitution they formulated, rest on a broad, 
just and honorable basis. The beneficent results flowing from their 
judicious labors have proved of the highest importance to America and the 
science of government everywhere. Indeed, it required the constitutional 
and indissoluble union of the States, devised by this convention, to ren- 
der the Declaration of Independence of practical value by the creation of 
a National Government, preserving at the same time the autonomy of 
the States. And yet, strange as it may seem, the names of the seventy- 
three delegates appointed to the convention, or even the thirty-nine 
members who signed this precious document, are to a great extent un- 
familiar to the public. Properly enough the names and the portraits of 
the signers of the Declaration of Independence are known to nearly every 
person, because they have been treated in a popular manner by artists 
and historians, and placed before an admiring public. The same and even 
greater respect is due to the framers of the Constitution. The neglect of 
ihe. personnel oi t\i& constitutional convention, as I apprehend, is acci- 
dental rather than intentional ; and is, at least, undeserved, I am confident 
all will admit. This work has stood the test of acentur3'and has proved 



6 GEORGE WASHINGTON, INVENTOR 

It is not certain who introduced the proposition regarding 
Patents and Copyrights ; but, considering the personriel of the 
convention, it might have originated with either Washington 
or Franklin, and was certain of an earnest support from both. 

This was the first assembly of law-makers in the history of 
the world to reduce this conception to a practical formula, or 
make it a fundamental principle that inventors and authors 
have rights in their inventions which should be recognized and 
protected, for a limited time at least, by law. This conclusion 
they embodied in the Constitution of the United States.^ 

The rise and development of the American Patent System 
and the immense influence that it and the Patent Office, as a 
repository of official records and inventions, have had in pro- 
moting improvements, not only in our own country but also 
throughout the world, you have heard from other and abler 

to be so nearly perfect as a charter of human rights as to create in the 
minds of some the belief that it has many of the qualities of an inspired 
instrument. It is to be hoped that some capable writer will produce a 
good, popular, illustrated history and summary of the principles of the 
Federal Constitutiou as crystalized by its authors, with the portraits and 
biographies of each of the members, so as to make them as familiar as 
household words to the people of the United States. An acceptable pic- 
ture of the convention in session might, with great propriety, be exten- 
sively used to the same end as an object lesson by the Government of the 
United States on its legal documents, coins, medals, greenbacks, letter- 
heads, etc. This highly interesting historical convention sat in the 
council chamber in the State House in Philadelphia, the same from 
which emanated the immortal Declaration of Independence. George 
Washington filled the chair and directed the deliberations of the body. 
His seat was placed beneath the carved coat of arms of the State of Penn- 
sylvania which ornamented a high panel in the rear. The venerable Dr. 
Franklin, then in his 83d year and an invalid, but with vigorous intellect, 
was carried to and from the convention in his Sedan chair which he 
brought with him from Europe. His arm-chair was placed on the left of 
the President near the bar. Judge James Wilson sat near the bar on 
his left. The other members disposed of themselves as they found it con- 
venient. 

5 The following is the clause in the Constitution of the United 
States which secures the rights of inventors and authors : " To promote 
the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by .securing for limited Times to 
Authors and Inventors exclusive Right to their respective Writings and 
Discoveries." 



AND PATRON OF THE USEFUL ARTS. 7 

Speakers, Here, at Mount Vernon, the duty has been 
assigned to me, near the close of this brilliant and, I trust, 
profitable Patent Centennial, to speak to you of the great Wash- 
ington as an inventor and promoter of improvements in the arts. 

In compliance with this complimentary assignment, I shall 
venture to claim your attention for only a brief period ; not 
but that much could be said confirmatory of the fact that 
General Washington, who owned these broad acres, enjoyed 
this magnificent prospect, and for half a century dispensed a 
most bountiful hospitality in this revered mansion, was ever 
on the alert for bettering man's condition in life through 
education, and by improvements in all kinds of productive 
machinery and labor-saving devices. 

While it may not be claimed that George Washington is 
descended from a line of inventors, sages or heroes, history 
confirms the fact that he sprung from an intelligent, enterpris- 
ing, courageous, self-reliant, truth-and-labor-loving, God- 
fearing stock, who were in their day and generation leading 
citizens in the community in which they lived. The instances 
in which Washington gave encouragement to new inventions 
are numerous, and the fact is beyond question that he invariably 
provided the best machinery for his mills and farms, and every- 
thing considered, for all the industries under his control, as is 
testified in many letters.^ He also had a kind word of encour- 

6 The following letter to a correspondent, to which Sparks adds a note, in 
the following words, vol. x, p. 68 : "The Baron de Poellnitz had a farm in 
the neighborhood of New York, where he tried experiments in agriculture. 
He also wrote a pamphlet on the svibject, and was the inventor of various 
agricultural machines and implements, particularly a threshing machine 
and the horse-hoe." ^^^ York, 29 Dec, 1789. 

Sir : I have received your letter of the 26th and given such attention 
to the manuscript which accompanied it, as my obligations to public 
duties would permit. I shall always be happy to see experiments in 
agricultural machines, which can be brought into general use. Of those 
in your possession I was not able to form a decided judgment, except in 
the instance of the horse-hoe. Of the utility of that instrument I was 
fully convinced. I propose to take some farther occasion of seeing the 
manner in which the threshing machine operates, when you shall let me 
know it is in readiness for the purpose ; and in the meantime, 
I am with due consideration, etc., 

Qo Washington 



GEORGE WASHINGTON, INVENTOR 

agement for those working to the end of devising new methods 
and improved implements in any of the arts. This spirit, along 
with his official duty to see proper laws enacted by Congress 
under the authority of the Constitution which he had assisted 
in drafting, led him in his first annual message to commend 
measures to foster new and useful inventions and^ doubtless 
gave him special pleasure in signing the first patent law enacted 
under the government of the United States,^ as well as in attach- 
ing his name to the first patent issued shortly after^ under an 
act of Congress. 

Just one century ago, George Washington, then President of 
the United States, was for a week at Mount Vernon. He was 
then setting out on a tour through the Southern States, having 
made a similar semi-official one of the Eastern States in 
October and November, 1789. His Diary for this date, a 
century ago, is as follows : 

" Thjcrsday, yth April, 1791. — Recommenced my journey 
with Horses apparently much refreshed and in good spirits. 

' ' In attempting to cross the ferry at Colchester with the four 
Horses hitched to the Chariot by the neglect of the person 

He made many enquiries by letters to his correspondents relative to 
the practical efficacy of threshing machines, which had been experi- 
mented with both in Europe and America. In a letter to Governor Henry 
Lee of Virginia, October 16, 1793, he speaks hopefully of a threshing 
machine devised by Col. Taliaferro, but which he had not seen, but had 
heard good reports of its performance. He insists the machine must be 
simple in construction. "The model," he says, "brought over by the 
English farmers may also be a good one, but the utility of it among care- 
less negroes and ignorant overseers will depend absolutely upou the 
simplicity of the construction, for if there is anything complex in the 
machinery it will be no longer in use than a mushroom is in existence." 

7 "The advancement of Agriculture, Commerce and manufacture by 
all proper means vnW not, I trust, need recommendation ; but I cannot 
forbear intimating to you the expediency of giving effectual encourage- 
ment as well to the introduction of new and useful inventions from abroad 
as to the exertions of skill and genius in producing them at home, and 
of facilitating the intercourse between the distant parts of our Country 
by a due attention to the Post-Office and Post-Road." — lVashingto7i^s 
first annual message, January S, ijgo. 

8 April 10, 1790. 

9 July 30, 1790. 



AND PATRON OF THE USEFUL ARTS. 9 

who stood before tliem, one of the leaders got overboard 
when the boat was in swimming water and 50 yards from the 
shore — with much difficulty he escaped drowning before he 
could be disengaged — His struggling frightened the others in 
such a manner that one after another and in quick succession 
they all got overboard harnessed & fastened as they were and 
with the utmost difficulty they were saved & the Carriage 
escaped been dragged after them, as the whole of it happened 
in swimming water & at a distance from the shore — Provi- 
dentially — indeed miraculously — by the exertions of people 
who went off in Boats & jumped into the River as soon as the 
Batteau was forced into wading water — no damage was sus- 
tained by the horses, Carriage or harness. 

" Proceeded to Dumfries where I dined — after which I 
visited & drank Tea with my Niece, M"".^ Tho? Lee. 

''Friday, 8th. — Set out about 6 o'clock — breakfasted at 
Staffiard Court House — and dined and lodged at my Sister 
Lewis's in Fredericksburgh. 

''Saturday, pth. — Dined at an entertainment given by the 
Citizens of the town. Received and answered an address 
from the Corporation [of Fredericksburgh]. 

' ' Was informed by M^ Jn? Lewis, who had not long since 
been in Richmond, that MT Patrick Henry had avowed his 
interest in the Yazoo Company ; and made him a tender of 
admission into it wh^ he declined — but asking, if the Company 
did not expect the Settlement of the lands would be disagree- 
able to the Indians was answered by MT Henry that the C? 
intended to apply to Congress for protection — which if not 
granted they would have recourse to their own means to pro- 
tect the settlement — That General Scott had a certain quantity 
of Land (I think 40,000 acres) in the Company's grant & 
was to have the command of the force which was to make the 
establishment — and moreover — that General Muhlenburg had 
offered ^1000 for a certain part of the grant — the quantity I 
do not recollect if it was mentioned to me. 

' ' Sunday, loth. — Left Fredericksburgh about 6 o'clock — my- 
self, Majr Jackson and one Servant breakfasted at General Spots- 
woods — the rest of my Servants continued on to Todd's Ordinary 
where they also breakfasted. Dined at the Bowling Green — 
and lodged at Kenner's Tavern 14 miles farther — in all 35 m. 



10 GEORGE WASHINGTON, INVENTOR 

Before entering upon the main subject of this discourse, I 
shall first endeavor to recall a few of the more notable traits 
of character in the boyhood and early manhood of him whose 
life and achievements make these ancestral possessions on the 
Potomac, the most noted and dearly loved homestead in the 
world.'" A consensus of the most careful studies of the life 
of George Washington from his childhood, represents him as 
mentally and phj'sically precocious — attaining almost his full 
stature in his 19th year, but throughout his youth, diffident 
almost to bashfulness — yet men of experience marveled at the 
maturity of his judgment and his knowledge of the details of 
business in general and public affairs. He seems to have had 



10 The original patent for the land embraced in the Mount Vernon tract 
was granted March ist, 1674, by Thomas (Lord) Culpeper to Col. Nicholas 
Spencer and Lieut.-Col. John Washington for 5,000 Acres, located at the 
mouth of Little Hunting creek on the Potomac. They made an equal 
division, and the part falling to John Washington descended by bequest 
without subdivision until it was devised in parcels bj' Gen'l Washington 
to his heirs. Mount Vernon has never known other owners than Wash- 
ingtons until 200 acres of it, including the tomb and mansion, caiue into 
the possession of the "Mount Vernon Ladies' Association," which has 
secured the tomb and home of Washington for all time for the people — 
as a memento of the founder of the American Republic. 

Text ok the Original Patent. 
To all to whome these p^sents shall Come the Owners aud proprj'et''.'' of all that 
tract and Terrytoi-y of laud iu Virginia in America mentioned in his Ma'^'f'' 
letters Pattent under the Broad Scale of England bearing date the Eighth day of 
May in the Nine and twentieth yeare of his ... . Ma^^f^ Raigne send Greet- 
ing in our Lord God Everlasting KNOWE Yee that by Virtue thereof and for and in 
Consideration of the yearely Rent and Agreem'^f hereafter Expressed and Reserved 
Wee have Bargained Sold Released and Confirmed and doe by these p^sents under 
our Co'Cmon Seal Bargaiue Sell Release and Confirme unto Coll : Nicholas Spencer 
and Lcf Coll : John Washington of Virginia iu America ffive thousand Acres of 
Land Scituate Lv'^g and beiug within the said Terrytory iu the County of Stafford 
in the ffreshes of Pottomeeke River and neere oppositt to Piscatoway Indian Towne 
in Mariland and neere the Land of Cap^ : Giles Brown on the North side, and neere 
the l,and Sun-eyd for M^ W*^ Grein Mf W™ Dudley and others on the South side^ 
being a necke of Land bounded betwixt two Creeks and the Maine River, on the 
East side & to by the said Maine River of Pottomeeke, on the North & to by a Creeke 
Called by the English Little Hunting Creeke and the maiue Branch thereof on the 
south & to by a Creeke named and Called by the Indians Epsewasson Creeke and 
the maine Branch thereof which Creeke devides this Land of Grein and Dudley 



AND PATRON OF THE USEFUL ARTS. 11 

no frivolous or idle boy-life. When a lad he was noted for his 
punctual attendance at school, for his application to study, and 
his ability to master mathematical problems. He was strong 
and agile in plaj^ and a leader in all the more difficult feats 
and sports of climbing, leaping, pitching, throwing, etc., in- 
dulged in by his playmates. A sense of exact justice was 

aud others on the west side by a right Lyne drawne from the Branches of the afore 
said Epsewasson aud Little Hnnting Creeke including the aforesaid Quantity 
togeatber with all Trees profitts Comodityes Eniolum*^ and Additions 

whatsoever therein belonging All manner of Mines of Gold, Silver and Copper 
therein only excepted and foreprised To Have aud to Hold all and singular the 
p^mises (except before excepted) to the said Coll : Nicholas Spencer and t,\ : Coll 
John Washington their heires aud Assignes forever Yieldinge and paying therefore 
yearely and every yeare the Rent of ffoure shillings of Lawfull money of England 
for every Hundred Acres and soe proportionably for a Bigger or I.esser Quantity to 
the said propriet''^ our heires and Assignes forever upon the flfirst day of November 
Com '<' only Called the ffeast of all s*^*>: att the Court house of the County where the 
said Lands are scituate, or such other place within our said Terrytory as wee or 
auy one or either of us shall derect and app05-nt from tyme to tyme The first pay- 
m^ thereof to bee made on the first day of November now next ensuing Provided 
allwayes that if the said Coll : Nicholas Spencer aud l^ Coll: John Washingtou their 
heires aud Assignes doe j-earely and every yeare betweeue the feast day of st 
Michaell the Archaugell and the said ffirst day of November pay or Cause to bee 
paid unto us the said Proprieto'^* our heires and Assignes forever the yearely Rent 
of two shillings sterling in specie for every Hundred Acres and soe p portionably 
for a Bigger or Lesser Quantitj' that it shal bee taken aud accepted by us the said 
proprieto''^^ our heires and Assigues in flfull satisfaccon of the ffoure shillings above 
mentioned Provided alsoe that if the said Coll : Nicholas Spencer and L^ Coll : John 
Washington their heires and Assignes shall not Plant or Seate the said Lands or 
Cause the same to bee planted or Seated within the terme of three yeares next 
ensuing the date hereof; that then this Grant & everything herein Contayned 
shall bee void and Null to all Intents & purposes whatsoever as if the same had 
never beene made And lastly it is Agreed that this Grant bee Registred in due 
forme in Virginia aforesaid by the said Coll; Spencer aud L^ Coll: John Wash- 
ington or their Assigues before the ffirst day of November now next ensuing In 
Wituesse whereof wee y^ S_ Proprieto^^ have here onto fixed our Com'^on scale 
and Caused the same to bee Countersigned by one or more of us in the Naime of 
the Rest this ffirst day of March lu the 27^'^ yeare of the Raigne of our Soveraigne 

Lord Kiug Charles yf second & Anno Dom 1674. 

Tho Culpeper 

It is probable that the first purchase of real estate made by George 
Washington was that of a tract of unseated land embracing 550 acres, 
which he selected on the Bullskin early in his visits to the Shenandoah 
Valley. He received a deed for this land in Frederick County, Va., from 
Lord Fairfax, the original proprietor, which bears date October 25th, 1750. 



12 GEORGE WASHINGTON, INVENTOR 

developed in him in his childhood which was recognized by 
his school-fellows, who, by common consent, on occasions of 
dispute, selected him to act as umpire, and unreservedly acqui- 
esced in his decisions. This trait of weighing evidences and 
reaching justice he had, to an eminent degree, through life. 

Among the early notable performances of Washington, which 
have come down to us, is his formula of maxims or " Rules of 
Civility and Decent Behaviour in Company and Conversation," 
the ground-work of which was probably derived, through Haw- 
kins's translation, from the original French. The maxims, as 
recast, he recorded in his copy-book in 1745, which, with 
other school exercises, is preserved in the Department of State 
at Washington. These rules do honor alike to the head and 
heart of him who had the genius to adopt and improve them ; 
and though Washington entered no claim to originality, they 
would to-day entitle him to a copyright which has actually been 
granted to two aspiring editors" who have recently published 
editions of them. 

The consummate control which Washington habitually 
maintained over his feelings, so that judgment might be his 
guide, his never-flagging industry and strict attention to duty, 
together with his most inflexible principles of justice, enabled 
him as nothing else could to deport himself with undeviating 
propriety and dignity on every occasion, and made him the 
great leader he was. 

An example which illustrates the early tastes and accom- 
plishments of Washington is found in a few plots of surveys 
and topographical sketches made of the Potomac River and 
lyittle Hunting Creek, here at Mount Vernon, as exercises in 
surveying while visiting his half-brother, Major Lawrence 
Washington, in 1747, which have happily escaped the de- 
structive hand of time, and may be found in the Department 
of State. 

The practical acquirements, the disciplined habits, the ener- 
getic and intelligent application to business affairs, secured for 
George Washington the patronage of Lord Fairfax, the pro- 
prietor of the Northern Neck of Virginia, who had met him 

" The Rev. Moncure D. Conway aud Dr. J. M. Toner. 



AND PATRON OF THE USEFUL ARTS. 13 

repeatedly at ' ' Belvoir ' ' and Mount Vernon, and wlio, seeing 
from his work that he was a youth of unusual ability, engaged 
him as a surveyor and factor in his land office, which was then 
at " Belvoir." 

Washington set out from " Belvoir " upon this, his first re- 
munerated employment, when he was just one month over six- 
teen years of age, to associate with practical men of business in 
a business way and to discharge important and responsible 
duties. He kept a diary of this "journey over the moun- 
tains," as he termed it, and of the surveys he then made, 
which is full of interest and which is at present in course of 
publication. In this business, he acquitted himself to the entire 
satisfaction of lyord Fairfax, who found it to his interest to 
secure young Washington's services on a more permanent and 
extended scale in connection with the surveying and settlement 
of his lands in the Valley of Virginia, then in much demand 
by actual settlers. This congenial and profitable employment 
was, however, terminated in the fall of 1751 by the failure of 
Major Lawrence Washington's health, and the necessity of his 
seeking a milder climate in the island of Barbadoes, on the 
voyage to which place his brother George was induced to ac- 
company him. The attachment of these brothers to each other 
had been especially strong from childhood, so that George did 
not hesitate, for a moment, to sacrifice a lucrative position to 
discharge a fraternal duty. This was the only occasion on 
which George Washington was ever beyond the territory of his 
own country. During this journey, as was his custom, he kept 
a diar>' which is replete with statesmanlike observations. 
This journal is also in the hands of a publisher. 

During the summer of 1751, Major Lawrence Washington 
resigned the office of Adjutant Inspector of the Militia of Vir-j 
ginia with the rank of major, to which position he had his 
brother George appointed, with the pay of one hundred and! 
fifty pounds a year. This was George Washington's first 
military commission. With his usual assiduity, he at once set 
to work to inform himself of his official duties, and to acquire, 
by study and drill, the knowledge necessary- for their proper 
discharge. To this end he employed a practical drill-master 



14 GEORGE WASHINGTON, INVENTOR 

and teacher of the sword exercise, and speedily mastered both 
manuals. 

When, in 1753, the Governor of Virginia wanted a man of 
address, courage and perseverance to execute the difficult and 
hazardous task of penetrating for several hundred miles into a 
wilderness which sheltered many hostile savages and the 
armed forces of an unfriendly foreign nation, all voices coun- 
seled the appointment of Major George Washington to this 
embassy. I refer, of course, to the occasion of Governor 
Dinwiddie's serving a notice upon the Commandant of the 
French forces at Fort La Bmif that they were trespassing 
upon the territory of His Majesty, the King of Great Britain, 
and warning them to depart. '^^ Washington accepted the 
mission and set out to execute it the same day, October 
31st, 1753. It should be borne in mind that, at that time, the 
whole region about the head-waters of the Ohio, and, indeed, 
nearly all the territory west of the Blue Ridge in Virginia and 
Pennsjdvania was nearly an unbroken forest, the happy hunt- 
ing grounds of hostile Indians. The French, it is true, had 
made a few but no very considerable settlements in the great 
Mississippi Valley, and claimed the territory by right of dis- 
covery. This mission, considering the time at which it was 
undertaken and the difficulties that had to be overcome, must 
be placed in the category- of heroic enterprises, while the 
political effects flowing therefrom are among the most import- 
ant in the history of our country. Major Washington per- 
formed this duty with such promptness and good judgment, as 
to receive the thanks of the Governor of Virginia and his 

12 The estimation in which Major George Washington was held by 
Governor Dinwiddie then and for some time previous, may be shown by 
his letter to the Lords of Trade, written November 17th, 1753, i" which 
the Governor said : "I have sent out a gentleman of distinction to the 
French Camp on the Ohio with my letter to the Commanding Officer, 
to know the reasons and by what authority he invades His Majesty of 
Great Britain's territory in the time of a solid peace sulisisting between 
the two Crowns." 

And in another despatch of the same date the Governor of Virginia 
writes; "I have commissioned Mr. Washington, a Major and one 
of the Adjutants of the Militia of this Dominion, to proceed to the 
French camp, etc." (Colonial Office Records of Virginia, 1750 — 1780). 



AND PATRON OF THE USEFUL ARTS. 15 

Council. He kept notes of his journey from the time he left 
Williamsburg until he returned, with which, when referred to 
by Washington to refresh his memory, the Governor was so 
miich pleased that he requested their author to write them out 
as a Report, which he did in one daj^, and they were iramedi- 
atelj'- printed by public authority. The modesty of Washing- 
ton throughout this journal is as conspicuous and character- 
istic of the man and his heroism as his diplomacy with the 
Indians and the French officers was admirable. The pre- 
tensions of the French, as set forth by the statements of their 
own officers and recorded in this journal, brought Major 
Washington's name into prominence in all the di.scussions in 
Great Britain, France and the several American Provinces 
relative to this trans- Alleghany territory. His reputation for 
sagacit}', courage and diplomatic ability had thus acquired 
international celebrity. Henceforth he was a factor in the 
politics and polic}^ of the nations which were engaged in 
maintaining colonial settlements in North America. 

Washington declined the chief command of the armed 
expedition immediately set on foot by Governor Dinwiddie to 
build a fort or forts at the forks of the Ohio, as recommended 
in his journal or report to the Governor, but accepted the 
position of second to the Commander-in-Chief. In this 
service, as I^ieu tenant-Colonel, he won the distinction of 
having led the first bodj- of armed American troops across the 
Alleghany mountains to reclaim the great West from the forest, 
the savage and the French. The death of the Commander-in- 
Chief, Col. Joshua Fry, occurred at what is now Cumberland, 
Md., May 31st, 1754, while he was en route to assume active 
command, whereupon the whole conduct of the expedition 
devolved upon Col. Washington, who w^as, at the time, at the 
head of a detachment of the Virginia Regiment on the west 
side of the Alleghany mountains. As is known to those ac- 
quainted with the early history of our country, the battle of 
the Great Meadows and the capitulation of Fort Necessity 
terminated this campaign to the discomfort of Virginia, the 
mortification of Washington, and the great disappointment of 
Governor Dinwiddie. Washington resigned from the service 
in the fall of 1754, on accontit of an army regulation which 



16 GEORGE WASHINGTON, INVENTOR 

denied rank to Colonial officers when serving in commands 
along with British officers, the latter holding their commissions 
from the King. '3 

The failure of the Virginia troops to establish forts west of 
the Alleghany mountains, led the British Ministry to send Gen- 
eral Braddock to America in 1755, with two regiments of 
regulars, which were largely reinforced b}^ colonial troops, but 
with no colonial officer of higher rank than a captain, to drive 

13 Militarj' rank in the Colonies at that time was not founded on 
either justice or sound policy, and was, therefore, at times the occasion 
of great irritation between Colonial and British officers. Fort Cumber- 
land, for a considerable period the most advanced military post to the 
westward, while on the border of Virginia, was actually in Maryland, 
and, after Braddock's defeat, was garrisoned by thirty men under Capt. 
Dagworthy, unde« a commission from the Governor of Maryland. The 
captain had served in the Braddock Expedition, under a commission from 
the King, and, whenever opportunity offered, would claim this old com- 
mission to entitle him to rank any officer holding a commission from 
one of the Colonial Governors. When Washington had occasion to be 
at Fort Cumberland, this doughty captain would place himself upon this 
former commission and pay no attention to the orders of Col. Washington. 

This was not only exasperating, but subversive of di.scipline and 
efficiency in the service, which Washington was determined to correct or 
to retire from the service. He accordingly, with the approval of all the 
officers of the Virginia forces, got the consent of Governor Dinwiddie to 
refer the whole matter of rank, as it affected the service in America, to 
Gen. Shirle\-, at the time Commander-in-Chief of His Majesty's armies 
in the American Colonies. By request of the Virginia officers, the 
petition was to be presented to Gen. Shirley by Col. W^ashington in person. 

Accordingl}', Washington with his aide-de-camp, Capt. George Mercer 
set out from Williamsburg for Boston Februar}- 4th, 1756, to present 
their petition on the question of rank. Washington was well received b}' 
Gen. Shirle)', who examined into the matter on its merits, and responded 
by giving a pointed order that Capt. Dagworthy should be subject to 
Col. Washington's orders. 

But this, while it corrected the immediate controversy, did not solve 
the real difficult3' which existed in the army regulations, the amendment 
of which required the action of the Ministry. The subject, therefore, 
continued to be discussed, and petitions continued to be sent by other 
Colonial officers to the Home Government, representing the injustice of 
the rule as applied to the militarj' service in America. William Pitt, 
while Secretary of State, in 1758, in a spirit of conciliation towards the 
Colonies, procured a modification of the regulations concerning the rank 
of British and Colonial officers on duty in the same ser\'ice, putting them 



AND PATRON OF THE USEFUL ARTS. 17 

the French from Fort Duquesne, and hold that position at the 
head of the Ohio.''* The eminently valuable service which 
Col. Washington performed while a volunteer aide in this ex- 
pedition (for he held no command) in extricating Braddock's 
shattered forces after the engagement and their defeat on the 
Monongahela, Jul}'- 9th, 1755, is a part of the history of our 



in a position much nearer equality, but without fvilly reaching it. While 
this allayed somewhat the complaint of the Provincials, it served, tiever- 
theless, to auuoy the regulars. 

The army regulations were specific, and in the language following : 
■"That all such as were commissioned by the King, or by his general 
Commander-in-Chief in North America, should take rank of all officers 
commissioned by the Governors of the respective Provinces. And 
further, that the general and field officers of the Provincial troops should 
have no rank when serving with the generals and field officers com- 
missioned by the Crown : but that all captains and other inferior officers 
of the Royal troops shall take rank over Provincial officers of the same 
grade having older commissions." 

It is almost inconceivable, but it is nevertheless true, that up to the 
campaign which drove the French out of iheir North American possessions 
not a Provincial colonel had ever been asked b}"^ any British officer to 
join in a council of war. The Provincial officers, therefore, even to 
colonels, knew no more than a sergeant what was to be done before their 
orders came. In the nature of things, the Colonial officers were much 
better acquainted with the topographical features of the country and the 
difficulties to be overcome, than any British officer, or a stranger, could 
possiblj' be, as well as with the methods of warfare peculiar to the 
Indians. Yet, these and other potent reasons, and the further fact that 
the Colonial officers were fighting on their own soil and for their own 
firesides, were totally disregarded. It was, therefore, not to be wondered 
at that Col. Washington's sense of justice rebelled at such a regulation. 

'4 E. D. Neill, quoting from Peyton's Reminiscences" of General Brad- 
dock while at Williamsburg, Va., 1755, gives the following extract from 
a letter written to the General about this time, as follows : 

"Is Mr. Washiugton among your acquaintauces ? If not, I must recommend you to 
embrace the first opportunity to form his friendship. He is about twenty-three years 
of age, with a countenance both mild and pleasant, promising both wit and judgment. 
He is of a comely and dignified demeanor, and at the same time displays much self- 
reliance and decision. He strikes me as being a young man of an extraordinary and 
exalted character, and is destined, I am of opinion, to make no inconsiderable figure 
in our country." 

Mr. Neill says that Washington was at a dinner given to Gen. Braddock 
at Williamsburg, March 1755, by Gen. John St. Clair, his Quartermaster, 
just after his arrival in Virginia. — [ Washington Adapted for a 'Crisis — 
J>. 7, by Ed'cvard D. Neill, D. D.'\ 



18 (JEORGK WASHINGTON, INVENTOK 

country. His conduct and bravery in the emergency met un- 
qualified praise alike from British and Colonial officers and 
men. This disaster left the frontier of Virginia, Maryland 
and Pennsj-lvania, for a time, without any organized or ade- 
quate military protection, but speedily the praise bestowed 
upon Col. Washington for his generalship in the late engage- 
ment assumed the nature of a universal, popular demand to 
Gov. Dinwiddle for his appointment to a command of the 
Virginia troops for the protection of the frontier settlements. 
It was known to the Assembly, the Governor and his Council, 
that Washington had retired from the service soleh' on account 
of the military regulations discriminating in rank against 
Colonial officers. It was also known he Avould not again 
accept command unless his rank should be respected.'? As 
the corps about to be organized was to consist wholly of 

15 Wasliington boie with dignity the slight the Governor perpetrated 
in reducing his comniand, which he knew at the time, would cause the 
Colonel to resign his commission. He had made great personal sacrifices 
to serve his country in the military line, but never received proper 
encouragement from Gov. Dinwiddie. The following extract from a 
letter to his brother Augustine, written August 2d, 1755, shortly after 
Gen. Braddock's defeat, shows both his courage and his sense of justice ; 
he says ; "I can nevertheless assure yon, and others ' whom it may con- 
cern ' (to borrow a phrase from Goverour Innes) that I am so little dis- 
pirited at what has happened, I am always read}', and always willing, to 
render my Country any Services that I am capable of but never upon the 
Terms I have done ; — having suffered much in m}' private Fortune, besides 
impairing one of the best of constitutions. — 

" I was cmplo3-ed to go a Jonrnej- in the Winter (when I believe, few 
or none would have undertaken it), — and what did I get by it? — My 
expences borne !— I then was appointed, with trifling Pay, to conduct a 
hand-full of Men to the Ohio : — What did I get by that? Why, after put- 
ting myself to a considerable expence, in equipping and providing neces- 
saries for the Campaign, I went out — was soundly beaten — lost them all \ 
— came in and had my Commission taken from me, or, in other words, 
my covunand reduced, under presence of an Order from Home ! — I then 
went out a Volunteer with Gen. Braddock, and lost all my Horses and 
many other things. But being a voluntary act, I ought not to have men- 
tioned this ; nor should I have done it was it not to shew that I have 
been upon the losing order ever since I entered the service, which is now 
nearly two years. vSo that I think I cannot be blamed should I, if I leave 
my family again, endeavor to do it upon such terms as to prevent my^ 
suffering — to gahi by it being the least of my expectations." 



AND PATRON OF THE USEFUL ARTS. 19 

Virginia Provincial forces, no controversy, it was thought^ 
could arise as to rank ; and with this understanding and an 
earnest desire on Washington's part to serve his country, he 
accepted the appointment. The Assembly promptly voted 
^40,000 to raise and equip troops. This was the largest sum 
Virginia had ever appropriated for this service. 

Washington was commissioned by the Governor, August 
14th, 1755, Colonel of the Virginia forces, to be immediately 
raised to build forts and protect the people on the frontier 
against the incursions of the Indians.'^ He accepted the 
appointment and continued at the head of the Virginia forces- 
until the French were, by the Forbes Expedition, in which 
Washington took a conspicuous and honorable part, obliged 
to abandon Fort Duquesne in the Fall of 1758. I have dwelt 
somewhat in detail upon this early period of Washington's life 
because these were the 5'ears in which he was acquiring mili- 
tary experience and ripening, by study and reflection, into the 
grandest military character and philosophic statesman the 
world has ever produced. 

In July, 1758, while with his regiment in the field, he was 
elected from Frederick county to a seat in the House of Bur- 
gesses of Virginia. His favorite project, the driving of the 
French from Fort Duquesne, having now been accomplished, 
he felt at liberty to resign his command in the array ; which he 
did in December of this year. 

Early in January, 1759, he was married, and in April, 
shortly after^ the adjournment of the Assembl)^ he brought 

16 Washington's letter to his mother, at the time, on this sul^ject fully 
represents his position, and is here given in full : 

" To M^^ Washington, 

Near Fredericksburgh, 
Hon'' Madam — 

" If it is in my power to avoid going to the Ohio again, I shall ; but if the command 
is pressed upon me, by the general voice of the country, — and offered upon such terms 
as cannot be objected against, — it would reflect dishonour upon me to refuse it; and 
that I am sure must or ought to give you greater uneasiness, than my going in an 
honorable command ; for upon no other terms •will I accept it — At present I have no 
proposals made to me, nor have I any advice of such an intention, except from present 
hands. 

I am, D'' Madam, &c., 
Mount Vernon, 

August 14th, 1755." 



From draft and transcript in the Department of State. 



20 GEORGE WASHINGTON, INVENTOR 

his wife to Mount Vernon. ^^ it was not until after his retire- 
ment from the army and his marriage that Washington was 
able to give much personal attention to the management of his 
estate. His brother, John Augustine, in his absence, had 
looked after his servants and his plantations to the best of his 
ability.'^ 

17 The following account of the personal appearance of Col. George 
Washington is given in a letter by Capt. George Mercer to a friend in 
England in 1760. This copy was taken by the writer, from a copy in the 
possession of Col. Lewis W. Washington, of "Bell-air," near Hall Town 
Jefferson count}-, West Virginia, 1855 ; 

" Although distrusting my ability to give an adequate account of the personal apear- 
anqe of Col. George Washington, late Commander of the Virginia Provincial troops, 
I shall, as you request, attempt the portraiture. He may be described as being as 
straight as an Indian, measuring six feet two inches in his stockings, and weighing 
175 pounds when he took his seat in the House of Burgesses in 1759. His frame is 
padded with well-developed muscles, indicating great strength. His bones and joints 
are large, as are his feet and hands. He is wide shouldered, but has not a deep or 
round chest ; is neat waisted, but is broad across the hips, and has rather long legs and 
arms. His head is well shaped though not large, but is gracefully poised on a superb 
neck. A large and straight rather than a prominent nose ; blue-gray penetrating eyes, 
which were widelj- separated and overhung b3- a heavy brow. His face is long rather 
than broad, with high round cheek bones, and terminates in a good firm chiu. He 
has a clear though rather colorless pale skin, which burns with the sun. A pleasing, 
benevolent, though a commanding countenance, dark brown hair, w-hich he wears in a 
cue. His mouth is large and generally firmly closed, but which from time to time dis- 
closes some defective teeth. His features are regular and placid, with all the muscles 
of his face under perfect control, though flexible and expressive of deep feeling when 
moved by emotions. In convensation he looks you full in the face, is deliberate, defer- 
ential and engaging. His voice is agreeable rather than strong. His demeanor at all 
times composed and dignified. His movements and gestures are graceful, his walk 
majestic, and he is a splendid horseman." 

18 The estate of Mount Vernon, or about 4,000 acres of it, was 
bequeathed by General Washington to his nephew, Judge Bushrod 
Washington, son of his brother, John Augustine, in the following 
language: "Partly in consideration of an intimation to his deceased 
father, while we were both bachelors, and he had kindly undertaken to 
superintend my estate during my military services in the former war 
between Great Britain and France, that if I should fall therein Mount 
Vernon, then less extensive in domain than at present, should become 
his property." On Justice Washington's decease, without children, he 
left it to his nephew, John Augustine, who, by will, left it to his widow, 
who conveyed it to her son John Augustine, who sold two hundred acres 
including the mansion and the tomb to "The Ladies' Mount Vernon 
Association of the Union." To them the country owes a debt of grati- 
tude for the excellent condition in which everything relating to the 
home of Washington is kept. Perhaps it is not too much to say ladies 
only could manage Mount Vernon so as to keep it free from politics, 
faction and peculation. Under their care it is annually growing in 
the affections of a grateful and patriotic people. 



AND PATKON OF THE USEFUL ARTS. 21 

From his youth, Washington was in the habit of taking 
notes and making memorandums in pocket note-books of 
whatever interested him, especially when engaged in expedi- 
tions or when making experiments. These memorandums 
assumed in time, but perhaps unconsciously to their author, 
the character of diaries. Of those which have escaped destruc- 
tion, some are preserved in the Department of State, others in 
private and public libraries, and all are held as highly-prized 
relics. Copies of all the Washington Diaries and Journals, 
known to exist, have been transcribed with literal exactness 
for the writer and are now in his possession. 

In his Diary for 1760, Washington notes, very briefly, the 
events occurring at Mount Vernon, and especially matters 
relating to the management of his plantations. These memo- 
randums, brief as they are, show that he was giving close 
attention to the improvement of his estates. His personal 
supervision was only interrupted by occasional visits to 
Williamsburg to attend the meetings of the Assembly. The 
following extract from his Diary, at this period, gives a good 
example, not only of his love of agriculture, bul in especial 
manner shows his ingenuity and fertility of invention and 
desire to improve the implements of husbandry. 

"■^ Thursday, Mar. 6^!*' iy6o — Fitted a two-eyed plow instead 
of a duck-bill plow, and with much diflBculty made my chariot 
wheel-horse plow." 

' ' Wednesday, Mar. igH'^ — * * * Peter (my smith) and 
I after several eiforts to make a plow after a new model, partly 
of my own contriving, was feign to give it out, at least for the 
present. ' ' 

March 21^.' Washington records the fact that he had this day 
grafted 41 cherry-tree grafts, 12 magnum bonum plums and 
planted 4 nuts of the Mediterranean pine :• — "The cherrys and 
plumb came from Col. Mason's, the nuts from Mr Green's." . 

To the close of the month of March, the diary shows that life 
was daily grafting and planting fruit trees to the number of 
several hundred. For many years his diaries show that in the 
months of February and March he was much occupied in set- 
ting out and grafting choice fruit. 

"'Monday, Mar. 24}'.'^ * * * in digging earth for the 
purpose of repairing my mill-dam, great quantities of marie 



22 GEORGE WASHINGTON, INVENTOR 

or Fuller's earth appeared. In the evening, in a bed that had 
been prepared with a mixture of dung on Saturday last, I 
sowed choice Lucerne and Rye grass seeds, in the garden, to 
try their goodness, doing it in the following order. At the end 
next the corner were two rows of clov-er-seed ; in the 3^' 4**"' 
5^1* and 6'^ rye grass ; the last row thinnest. Sowed y^l* and 
SV barley (to see if it would come up,) the last also thinnest 
sown; 9".' lo'V- ii^l*- I2^!'' Lucerne, the next thicker and so 
on to the last, w*^^ was very thick." 

' ' Wednesday, Alar. 26'!^ * * ;;; Spent the greater part 
of the day in making a new plow of my own invention." 

" Thursday, Mar. 2/'^- iy6o. * * * Set ni)- plow to 
work and found she answered very well in the lower pasture, 
w*^"^ I this da}' began plowing with the large bay mare and 
Rankin. - - * Agreed to give Mr- Wl" Triplet i^iS to 
build me two houses in the front of my house (plastering them 
also) and running walls for palisades to them from the great 
house ajid from the great house to the wash-house and kitchen 
also. '9 

J9The Mansion House, during Lawrence Washington's life, stood by 
itself. When George became its possessor but little improvement in 
buildings was made until after his marriage, then a number of out- 
houses were added and the grounds and gardens brought under the 
supervision of the Colonel's aesthetical eye. For the purpose of syste- 
matic management, the Mount Vernon estate was divided into the 
Mansion House Farm, of 450 acres and large bounds of woodland ; the 
River Farm, of 1,800 acres; the Union Farm, of 841 acres ; the Dogue, 
Run Farm, of 1,076 acres, and the Muddy Hole Farm of 886 acres — a 
domain of nearly 4,500 acres. 

The following memoraudum, in General Washington's handwriting, 
is preserved among his miscellaneous papers in the Department of State, 
and gives the size and names of all of the detached buildings existing at 
Mount Vernon in 1799. The enumeration of windows and panes of 
glass in each of the houses would seem to have some relation to a tax 
levy : 

"List of Ho\ises at Mount Veruou, as takeu by M^ Dulau (oue of the Assessors), 
the 9^^ instant on the Premises ; 

Dwelling: House 96 feet by 32, of Wood ; 2 Stories high. 

.■No. of Windows. No. of Paynes in each. Total. 

6 18 108 

6 12 72 

3 12 36 

8 15 120 

I 62 62 

2 16 32 

6 18 108 

9 12 108 

I \o 10 

2 18 36 

3 I* 36 



AND I'ATKON OF THK USEFUL ARTS. 23 

'* Saturday, April j. * * * Made another plow, the same 
as my former, except that it has two eyes and the other one." 

' 'Monday, April i^"l- Fine warm day, wind so'ly , and clear till 
the even'g, when it clouded ; no fish were to be catched to-day 
neither. Mixed my composts in a box with ten apartments in 
the following manner, viz. in N?- i is three pecks of earth 
brought from below the hill out of the 46 acre field without any 
mixture. In N?- 2 is two pecks of sand earth and one of marie 
taken out of the said field, which marie seem'd a little inclined 
to sand. 3 has 2 pecks of .s*^ earth and i of river side sand. 

4 has a peck of Horse Dang. 

5 has mud taken out of the creek. 

6 has cow dung. 

7 marie from the Gulleys on the hill side, w'^'' seem'd to be 
purer than the other. 

8 sheep dung. 

9 Black mould taken out of the Poco.son on the creek side. 

10 Clay got just below the garden. 

All mixed with the same quantity and sort of earth in the 
most effective manner by reducing the whole to a tolerable 
degree of fineness and rubbing them well together on a cloth. In 
each of these divisions were planted three grains of wheat, 3 of 
oats, and as many of barley, all of equal distances in Rows and 
■of equal depth done by a machine made for the purpose. The 
wheat rows are next the numbered side, the oats in the middle, 
and the barley on the side next the upper part of the garden. 
Two or three hours after sowing in this manner, and about an 
hour before sunset I watered them all equally alike with water 

" Kitchen , f 4oby20 

Servants Hall ""■ \ 40 — 20 

Gardners house 26 — 16 

Store house 26 — 16 

Smoke house *i6 — 16 

Wash house 20 — 16 

Coach house 20 — 16 

Stable 84 — 36 

Salt house 16—16 

Spinning house 38 — 18 

Negrro Quarters I ■ 170- j8 

Green house j ' 

Ice house within arch 12 — 12 



Go Washington. 



Mount Vkrnon, 

/J March, 1799. 



-V Measured since hVi Bulau took the account. 
* This building is added to the Assessors Report. 



24 • GEORGE WASHINGTON, INVENTOR 

that had been standhig in a tub ab' two hours exposed to the 
sun. * * * Got a new Harrow made of smaller and closer 
teethings for harrowing in grain — the other being more proper 
for preparing the ground for sowing. ' ' 

May i?*^ Washington records that he inspected the grain 
planted in the ten boxes, each containing a different compost, 
as a test. These experiments show how close an obsen-er he 
was, but they are too extended to be given in full here. He 
concludes, all things considered, that boxes 8 and 9 promised 
the most satisfactory' results. 

His ever watchful attention to the matter of labor-saving 
machinery in the interest of the poorly-paid and over-worked 
farmer is apparent throughout the life and writings of Wash- 
ington. He made it a duty to read the standard works and 
annual publications on agriculture to obtain useful hints which 
might be of service on the Mount Vernon plantations.^" 

Each one of the five plantations under the general super- 
vision of the Mount Vernon estates, had its own overseer and 
its independent outfit or plant, with all the working people, 
stock and farm implements essential to its independent, 
economical management. A debit and credit account was 
kept by each overseer of the operations on his plantation — the 

2oThe following letter, the draft of which is preserved in the Depart- 
ment of State, is in point. The letter is here given in full, as it is only 
in part published by Sparks and by Ford : 

To— Robert Cary Esq** & C 

Merch^^ London 
Gent« 

The Inclosed is a Copy of my last of the 22^ uit°. We have been curiously en- 
tertained of late with y^ description of an Engine lately constructed (I believe in Swit- 
zerland, and undergone some Improvements since in England) for taking up Trees by 
the Roots.— Among other things it is related that Trees of considerable Diameter are 
forced up by this Engine— that Six hands in working one of them will raise two or 
three hundred Trees in the space of a day— and that an Acre of Ground may be eased 
of the Trees and laid fit for Plowing in the same time.— How far these assertions have 
been amply realy reallized by repeated experiment it is impossible for me at this dis- 
tance to determine but if the Accounts are not greatly exaggerated such powerful 
assistance must be of vast utility in many parts of this wooden country where it is 
impossible for our Force (and labourers are not to be hired here) between the finishing 
of one Crop and preparations for another to clear Ground fast enough to afford the 
proper changes either in the planting or Farming business— The chief purport of this 
l,etter therefore is to beg the favour of you Gentlemen to make minute enquiries into 
the Tryals that have been made by Order of the Society and if they have proved satis- 
factory to send me one of these Engines by the first Ship to this (Potomack) River.— If 
they are made of different sizes, I shoud prefer one of a middle size, capable of raising 



AND PATRON OF THE USEFUL ARTS. 25 

work done, the crops produced, their market value, imple- 
ments bought, stock increased, sold or on hand, general 
improvements made to buildings, ditching, clearing up of new 
land, etc. At the end of the year a balance was struck for 
each, and the difference set down to profit and loss. 

At this period, nearly all the trades essential to serve the/ 
wants of an independent community, were represented andi 
carried on at Mount Vernon ; such as milling, distilling, 1 
tanning, blacksmithing, wagon-making, shoe-making, tailor- 
ing, spinning, weaving, knitting, carpentering, coopering, 
harness-making, brick-making and laying, stone-masons, etc. , 
To a limited extent the facilities of these departments of labor 
were extended to his neighbors. There were also gunners to 
supply game, and men whose business it was to daily supply 
fresh fish, from the Potomac, for the table ; while all surplus of 
perishable articles brought to the home house was promptly 
sent to the overseers of the several quarters. The gangs of 
skilled workmen and farm-hands composing the different 
departments of laborers on the Mount Vernon Kstate consisted 
in part of slaves owned by General Washington ; — dower 
negroes — slaves owned by Mrs. Washington ; slaves hired 
from their masters by the year ;^^ transported convicts serving 

a tree of 15 or 18 Inches Diameter. — The Costs I ani pretty much a stranger to — 15 — 20 & 
25 Guineas have been spoke of but the Price (were it d'ble that) I shoud totally dis- 
regard provided the Engine is capable of performing what is related of it, and not of 
that complicated nature to be easily disordered, and rendered unfit for use, but con- 
structed upon so plain, simple, and durable a Plan that the common Artificers of this 
Country may be able to set them to rights if any accidents shou'd happen to them. If 
you should send one be so good as to let me have with it the most ample directions for 
the effectual using of it, together with a model of its manner of operating. 

Mrs. Washington woud take it as a favour, if you woud direct M^^ Shelby to send 
her a fashionable Summer Cloak & Hatt, a black Silk apron, i p^ of penny & i p^ of 
two penny Ribbon (white) and a pair of French bead Earings and Necklace — and I 
should be obliged to you for sending me a dozen and an half of Water Plates (Pewter 
with my Crest engraved) I am Gent*^ 

Y*" Most Obed* H'^Je Serv* 
Mount Vernon | G9 Washington 

13*^ February J 1764 

By Capt^. Dawson — for lyOndon. 

21 The following letter of Mrs. Corbin to Colonel Washington, found 
among the latter's papers, is illustrative of the business methods of the 
times and given in full — along with a receipt from Mr. Turberville. 

Essex, Mch 31st, 1766. 
Sir: — I am now favored with an opportunity of writing to you, to let you know that 
I shall be glad to be informed whether you will want the Bricklayer any longer. If you 



26 GEORGE WASHINGTON, INVENTOR 

out their sentences ;" persons voluntarily indenturing them- 
selves for a sufficient timers to pay costs of transportation to 



do you may keep him on the same Terms ; (but if not) shall be obliged if you will send 
him down as soon as his Year is up, because I have lately had an offer for him. As the 
distance is so great & good opportunities scarce, shall take it as a favor if you will send 
the Cash down by Mr. George Turberville who is the bearer of this & am Sir 

Your most obt. Servt. 

(Signed) Lettice Corbin. 
N. B. I have a good Gardener to hire ; if you want, may have him on the usual Terms 

for such L. C. 

To Col", George Washington of Mount Vernon, Va. 

Received from Geo: Washington for the use of Mrs. Lettice Corbin, Twenty five 
pounds Virga Curr'y for the hire of the Negro Bricklayer George one year. 

(Signed) Geo. Turberville. 
April 9, 1766. 

22 The following, found among Washington's papers, is a copy of a 
certificate and transfer in the case of a convict whose term of service 
was assigned to George Washington : 

In Pursuance, and by virtue of Acts of Parliament made and pro\4ded for the 
more speedy and effectual Transportation of Felons and convicted Persons out of 
Great Britain, into his Majesty's Plantations in America, We do hereby assign unto 
George Washington EsqV for Value received one Man-Servant named Thomas 
Wight being a Transport and within the said Statutes for the Term of Seven Years, 
the Time to commence from the Arrival of the Brig, Swift Captain George Straker in 
the Province of Maryland, it being the Twenty Sixth Day of February 1774 As 
witness our Hands this Twelfth day of March 1774. 

W1LI.M Lux & BOWLY. 

23 Copy of an Indenture for service as a mason for a term of years and 
a transfer to George Washington, in accordance with the law in force, at 
that period, in Virginia. Taken from among many manuscript indentures 
preserved among Washington's papers : 

Tf/fS INDENTURE Made the Thirty-first Day of January in the Fourteenth 
Year of the Reign of our Sovereign Lord George the third King of Great Britain, &c. 
And in the Year of our Lord One Thousand Seven Hundred and Seventy-four between 
Isaac Webb — Mason — of the City of Bristol of the one Part, and John Moorfield of the 
City of Bristol of the other Part, WITNESSETH, That the said Isaac Webb for the 
Consideration herein after-mentioned, hath, and by these Presents doth Covenant, 
Grant, and Agree to, and with the said John Moorfield his Executors and Assigns, 
That he the said Isaac Webb shall and will, as a faithful Covenant Servant, well and 
truly serve the said John Moorfield his Executors or Assigns, in the Plantation of 
Maryland beyond the Seas, for the space of four years, next ensuing his arrival in the 
said Plantation, in the Employment of a Mason And the said Isaac Webb doth hereby 
Covenant and Declare himself, now to be of the Age of Tveenty-foure Yearsand no Cov- 
enant or Contracted Servant to any other Person or Persons, And the said John 
Moorfield for himself his Executors or Assigns, in Consideration thereof do hereby 
Covenant, Promise and Agree to and with the said Isaac Webb Executors and Assigns, 
that he the said John Moorfield his Executors or Assigns, shall and will at his or their 
proper Costs and Charges, with what convenient Speed they may, carry, convey or 
cause to be carried and conveyed over into the said Plantation, the said Isaac Webb 
and from henceforth and during the said Voyage, and also during the said Term, 
shall and will at the like Cost and Charges, provide for and allow the said Lsaac Webb 



AND PATRON OF THE USEFUL ARTS. 27 

America ; others whose services for a stipulated period were sold 
by the .shipping-masters to the highest bidder;^^ and mechanics, 
white and colored, engaged by the month or year, and gen- 
erally upon a written contract. Washington's exactness in 
charging to each enterprise its just expense, is illustrated in 
his noting the number of days' labor it required of his carpen- 
ters and others in building his schooner at Mount Vernon, 
which we transfer in his own language from his diary. 

' ' Sep{ IS, 176^ — To this day my carpenters had in all 
worked 82 days on my schooner. 

all necessary Cloaths, Meat, Drink, Washing, and Lodging, fit and convenient for him 
as Covenant Servants in Such Cases are usually provided for and allow'd. 

And for the true Performance of the Premises, the said Parties to these Presents, 
hind themselves, their Executors and Administrators, the either to the other, in the 
Penal Sum of Ten Pounds Sterling, firmly by these Presents. In rc/ziness whereof, they 
have hereunto interchangeably set their Hands and Seals, the Day and Year above 
written. 

John Moorfield [seal] 

his 
Isaac X Webb [seal] 
mark 
Sealed and Delivered 

in the Presence of 
JOHN Evans 

I hereby Assign unto Col? George Washington all my Right & title to the within 
Named Isaac Webb his time to begin from the Arrival of the Restoration Cap^ 
Thomas into the Province of Maryland it being the 22*? Day of March 1774 as witness 
my hand this 26"-^ Day of March 1774. 

John Moorfield." 

24 The original of this indenture is preserved among the Washington 
papers in the Department of State, and is illustrative of old English law; 

THIS INDENTURE Made the Eighth Day of July in the Year of our Lord God 
One Thousand Seven Hundred & Seventy two Between Andrew Judge of the one Party, 
and Alex";' Coldclough March', of the other Party, WITNESSETH, That the said Andrew 
Judge doth hereby Covenant, Promise and Grant to and with the said Alex^ Coldclough 
his Executors, Administrators and Assigns, from the Day of the Date hereof until the 
first and next Arrival at Baltimore or any port in America and after, for and during the 
Term of Four Years, to serve in such Service and Employment as the said Alex^ Coldclough 
or his Assigns shall there employ him according to the Custom of that Country in the like 
Kind. IN CONSIDERA TION whereof the said Alex^ Coldclough doth hereby Cove- 
nant and Grant to and with the said Andrew Judge to pay for his Passage, and to find and 
allow Meat, Drink, Apparel and Lodging, with other Necessaries during the said Term. 
And at the End of the said Term, to pay unto him the usual Allowance according to the Cus- 
tom of the Country in the like Kind. IN WITNESS whereof the Parties abovementioned 
to these INDENTURES have interchangeably set their Hands and Seals, the Day and 
Year first above written. 

his 
Andrew X Judge [seal] 
Mark 
Signed, Sealed and Delivered, 

in Presence of ) _, 

T c ■^,rT^ V Mayor 

JnV MVDermott j 



28 GEORGE WASHINGTON, INVENTOR 

' ' 22'^ This week they worked 22 days upon her. 

"^<§'* This week my carpenters worked 22 days upon my 
schooner — and John Askew 3 days upon her. 

' ' Oct. ^".' This week my carpenters worked 24 days upon 
my schooner — and John Askew 4 days. 

''12"}^ This week my carpenters worked 22 days upon my 
schooner — and John Askew 3 days. 

"rp'^' This week y? carpenters worked 18 days, which 
make in all 190 days & 10 of John Askew." 

Washington was noted for owning fine horses, he also 
enjoyed, on proper occasions, extending their use to visiting 
friends for a dash after a fox and hounds over the Mount 
Vernon plains, ^5 a sport of which he was fond and frequently 
indulged in himself. In the chase, on his fine horse, he was 
usually the foremost hunter. 

He was a rapid rider in his ordinary business journeys, and 
his Diaries record the fact that on various occasions he rode as 
much as 60 miles a day. 

The possession of the Mississippi valley by the British and 
its settlement by Virginia had engaged the attention of George 
Washington from his youth. His brothers, Lawrence and 
Augustine, were among the original members of the Ohio 
Company, organized in 1748 to settle lands on the Ohio river 
and trade with the Indians. He was, therefore, reared in an 
atmosphere of admiration for and conviction of the future great- 
ness of this western territory. His Diary for July i^^ 1 763, con- 
tains the following entry : ' ' Went over to Stafford Court-House 
to attend a meeting of the Mississippi adventure, and lodged 
there." From the year 1754, the House of Burgesses, of 

25 The following observations on Washington's horsemanship are 
taken from de Chastellux, page 69 : 

"The weather being fair, on the 26th, I got on horseback, after breakfasting with the 
general— He was so attentive as to give me the horse he rode, the day of my arrival, 
which I had greatly commended— I found him as good as he is handsome ; but above all, 
perfectly well broke, and well trained, having a good mouth, easy in hand, and stopping 
short in a gallop without bearing the bit— I mention these minute particulars, because it is 
the general himself who breaks all his own horses ; and he is a very excellent and bold 
horseman, leaping the highest fences, and going extremely quick, without standing upon 
his stirrups, bearing on the bridle, or letting his horse run wild,— circumstances which 
our young men look upon as so essential a part of English horsemanship, that they would 
rather break a leg or an arm than renounce them." 



AND PATRON OF THE USEFUL ARTS. 29 

Virginia, inspired bj'- the report of Major George Washington 
in 1753, had annually before it, until the Revolution, some 
measure or report of committee to encourage and protect 
settlers on the waters of the Mississippi held to belong to 
Virginia. [Journal of House of Burgesses.^ His cash book 
shows he was a generous contributor to measures to encourage 
settlement and take up land in the valleys of the Ohio and 
Mississippi. 

Notwithstanding Washington's many engagements, he was 
not neglectful or unappreciative of the amenities of social 
intercourse. His home, even at this period, was scarcely a 
day without visitors of note from some of the Colonies, 
foreign travelers, his relatives, or gentlemen on business. He 
occasionally accompanied Mrs. Washington and the children 
to return calls and pay his respects to his neighbors. The 
following extract from his Diary is in point : 

''May jii' lydp.—"^ * * * * Set off with M*; 
Washington and Patcy, MV W[arner] Washington and wife, 
Mr^ Bushrod and Miss Washington, and MT Magowen for 
'Towlston,' in order to stand for MT B. Fairfax's third son, 
which I did together with my wife, M^ Warner Washington 
and his lady. ' ' 

In seasons of harvesting and seeding, or when any other 
important work was going on which required special attention, 
it was Washington's habit to visit several of his plantations, or 
all of them, to confer with his overseers before he ate his 
breakfast. When the full round of the plantations was made, 
the ride amounted to about ten miles. This ought to have given 
him, as it doubtless did, a good appetite. On his return to 
the mansion-house, he would immediately refresh himself with 
a wash, while the servant would place upon the table in the 
dining-room a fresh, warm breakfast. This meal usually con- 
sisted of fresh fish, breakfast bacon or ham, eggs, corn-cakes, 
fresh butter, honey and coffee or tea. Mrs. Washington, with 
her good taste and characteristic tact, even though the Gen- 
eral was a little late, managed to join and cheer him at 
table. 



30 GEORGE WASHINGTON, INVENTOR 

The regular hour for dining at Mount Vernon was three, 
although the working-people dined at twelve o' clock. ^^ It 
was the General's habit to make a toilet immediately before 
sitting down to table, whether he had been out riding or had 
remained in or about the house, was alone or had company. 
The opportunity was also afforded to all guests to refresh 
themselves before going into the dining-room. 

The intense earnestness of Washington in the prosecution 
of his farming interests extended, in a degree, to all the em- 
ployes on his estates. His people knew that he was just 
and considerate and that they and their work were constantly 
under his supervision. They also knew that he desired to 
have all his work done in the best possible manner. The 
versatility and never-flagging application which Washing- 
ton exhibited in all his business affairs, must always excite 
admiration. His power of endurance and celerity of move- 
ment from place to place were marv^elous. He had, too, that 
self-command which enabled him to pass from one occupation 
to another, or from the exciting sport of the chase immediately 
to the discharge of intricate business transactions, such as the 
drafting of a lease or deed and other papers requiring legal or 
expert knowledge, or the plotting of a survey, without the 
least flurry or confusion. It was a rule with him to be prompt 
in attending business engagements. The following extract 
from his Diary is fairly illustrative of this : 

26 Washington was an early riser, out before the sun was up or engaged 
in his study writing. The breakfast hour at Mount Vernon, in summer, 
was seven o'clock and in winter, eight. During Colouial times dinner 
was served in the mansion house usually at two o'clock. After the Revo- 
lution the time for that meal was three o'clock the year round. His 
usual beverage was small beer, cider, and Madeira wine. Tea was served 
in the dining-room — or if the company was very large, handed round — 
between seven and eight o'clock. The hospitality at Mount Vernon was 
so generous as almost to amount to an open house. Washington was a 
most liberal provider and himself a hearty eater, but neither in his letters 
or diaries does he complain of the tables at which he ate in traveling nor 
record what he had upon his own. But on several occasions he states that 
he lived plainly. To a friend he wrote, ' ' My manner of living is plain, and 
I do not mean to be put out by it. A glass of wine and a bit of mutton are 
always ready, and such as will be content to partake of them are always 
welcome. Those who expect more will be disappointed." 



AND PATRON OP THE USEFUL ARTS, 



31 



''March 5, 7/(5^— Went up to Alexandria after Fielding 
I,ewis and brought him down to dinner, where I found MT 
Warner Washington, who returned after dinner. 

"6^^ Set out with Fielding Lewis for Fredericksburg, which 
we reached after dining at Peytons at Aquia, i. e. reached my 
mother's. ^7 



27 Although this was a ride of about 45 miles, he rode over the same 
ground in less time on receiving a message of the dangerous illness of 
his mother and sister. His diary of April 27th, 1787, says : " About sun- 
rise I commenced my journey as intended. Bated at Dumfries and 
reached Fredericksburg before two o'clock and found both my mother and 
sister better." Washington, from his childhood, had a most reverential 
love and respect for his mother, which continued unabated to the close 
of her life. The prevalence of ceremony in Colonial days led him 
to address his mother, in at least some of his communications to her, 
as "Honored Madam," and at the close subscribe himself "Your 
most dutiful son." Mary Washington, like her son, was in the conduct 
of life eminently practical and chose to manage and maintain her inde- 
pendent estate according to her own notions, having sufficient for her 
needs. She removed from her farm to the town of Fredericksburg in 1775 
and resided in a comfortable house owned by her son George. It was within 
a hundred yards of " Kenmore " mansion, the residence of her daughter, 
Betty Lewis. As age advanced her children and grandchildren made 
her frequent visits and saw to it that she wanted for nothing that could 
add to her comfort. The General had repeatedly urged his mother to 
make Mount Vernon her home, which she declined. Her daughter, Mrs. 
Fielding Lewis, had also begged her to reside with her in ''Kenmore," 
but she persisted in her determination to maintain her own independent 
establishment. Her son, John Augustine, had also often and earnestly 
entreated her to give up the cares of a house and live with him. Febru- 
ary 15th, 1787, Washington wrote his mother a long and earnest letter on 
family affairs and in her special interest, looking to her comfort in her 
declining years. In this letter he urged her to make her home with one of 
her children, to rent her farm and take with her her horses and carriages 
and such servants as she desired ; but this, like all former advice, of the 
kind was declined. Washington's account book from 1754 shows that 
he advanced considerable sums to his mother. In his letter of Septem- 
ber 13th, 1789, to his sister, after their mother's demise, he says "I 
want no restitution of these sums." And on his ledger beneath 
the account of over ^500-0-0 against his mother, he writes "Settled." 
His cash book under date of March nth, 1789, has the followiug ; 
"By my expenses on a visit to my mother at Fredericksburg, 
^i-8-o. By Mrs. Mary Washington advanced her 6 Guineas." His 
mother died August 25th, 17S9, five months after this interview. It 



32 GEORGE WASHINGTON, INVENTOR 

<<yth Went to Fredericksburg & remained there all day- 
din? at Col? I^ewis's. 

"8. Still there. Dined at the same place, spending y? even- 
ing at Weedons at y^ club. 

" 9. Set oir for RoW Ashby's, and after dining by the way, 
reached it a little after dark. 

" 10. Went out to run out the bounds of the land I bo^ of 
Carters Estate, but y? weather being very cold & windy was 
obliged to return. 

"11. Went out again on the same business & returned at 
night to Capt? Ashbys. 

"12. At Capt? Ashbys all day— in the afternoon Capt? 
Marshal came & spent y? evening. 

"13. Out a surveying till Night with sevl attending. 

" 14. Out in like manner. 

"16, Out again with many People attending. 

"16. Ditto. Ditto. Ditto. 

is presumed that this was the last visit and interview the General had 
with his aged mother and supplied the incident for the pathetic parting 
as described by Lossing in " Recollections and Memoirs of Washington," 
by G. W. Park Custis, p. 145, and repeated in "Mary and Martha Wash- 
ington," p. 66. He assigns the date of this visit as the 14th of April, 17S9, 
when the President is said to address his mother in the following words ; 
"The people, madam, have been pleased with the most flattering unan- 
imity to elect me to the Chief Magistracy of these United States, but before 
I can assume the functions of my office, I have come to bid you an effection- 
ate farewell. So soon as the weight of public business, which must neces- 
sarily attend the outset of a new government can be disposed of, I shall 
hasten to Virginia and " — here the matron interrupted with — "and you 
will see me no more ; my great age, and the disease which is fast ap- 
proaching my vitals warn me that I shall not be long in this world ; I 
trust in God that I may be somewhat prepared for a better. But go, 
George, fulfill the high destinies which Heaven appears to have intended 
you for ; go, my son, and may that Heaven's and a mother's blessing be 
with you always." In a letter to his sister, on learning of his mother's 
death, he says : " Awful and afflicting as the death of a parent is, there is 
consolation in knowing that Heaven has spared ours to an age beyond 
which few attain, and favored her with the full enjoyment of her mental 
faculties and as much bodily strength as usually falls to the lot of four 
score. Under these circumstances, and the hope that she is translated to 
a happier place, it is the duty of her relations to yield due submission to 
the decree of the Creator." 



AND PATRON OF THE USEFUL AKTS. 33 

"17. Kxecutiug Ureases to those who had taken L,otts — being 
at Capt? Ashby's. 

"18. Went up to Green way Court where I dined and stayed 
all Night — met Col? L^ewis here. 

'''Mar. 19. Went with Col? I^ewis to his Plantations where 
I stayd all day & Night. 

' ' 20. Executing in the forenoon Deeds and settling with 
those who had purch? Carters I^and upon Opeckon — in the 
afternoon rid to Valentine Crawf •? 

"21. Went and laid of 4 I^ots at the head of Bullskin for 
several tenants. 

" 22. Filling up leases for them at Val Crawfords all day. 

"23. Set of homewards — Breakfasted at Mr Ariss's — din'd 
at y^ Ridge & lodged at West's. 

' ' 24. Reached home before dinner — found Col? Bassett, Lady 
& 2 Childl* Betcy & Nancy here also M^ W^ Washington & 
Jacky Custis. 

" 25. Went Fox hunting with Col? Bassett & MT Bryan Fair- 
fax who also came here last night — started and run a fox into a 
hole after an hours chase — MT Fairfax went home after dinner." 

The intelligent supervision Washington gave to his planta- 
tions between 1760 and 1770, brought them into as fine condi- 
tion as any land in the Mount Vernon region was susceptible 
of., He stopped the washes in the fields, drained the wet lands 
by proper ditching, made new clearings, refenced the fields, 
made roads, erected comfortable houses, barns and quarters for 
his people, rested the old fields in fallow, sowed clover, timothy 
and other grasses for hay pasture and for enriching the soil, and 
rotated his crops in the most judicious and practical manner. 
He was a good judge of the quality of land and knew as well 
as any man that the soil of his Mount Vernon estate was thin 
and capable of 5-ielding but moderate crops. However, he 
seems never to have complained or expressed an inclination to 
remove to better land. He owned large tracts of first-class 
limestone land on the Bullskin in Frederick county, Virginia, 
which he cultivated with profit. ^^ The facts are beyond ques- 

28 Received from George Washington the i8th. day of Aug. 1764 The 
Sum of two pounds three shillings for bringing down two Hhds of Tobo. 
in Joseph Thompson's Waggon from Frederick) his 

John # Bennet 
Mark 



34 GEORGE WASHINGTON, INVENTOR 

tion that he was deeply attached to his home on the Potomac, 
and found his greatest enjo3'ment of life in the peaceful shades 
of Mount Vernon and in the cultivation of its soil.^^ From 
1770 to the beginning of the Revolution he was gradually 
drawn to reflect upon public afiairs, and especially upon the 
questions, then discussed, as to the rights of the Colonies under 
the Crown. His Diaries covering this period show the frequent 
visits to Mount Vernon of men of the first character in America 
who were interested in the politics of the Colonies. 

In 1770 he visited the Ohio river bottoms to .select land for 
the ofiicers and men who were entitled to them under Gov- 
ernor Dinwiddle's proclamation of 1754, granting lands to those 
who volunteered and served that j^ear in the expedition to the 
Ohio. Washington was among the first to call attention to the 
desirableness and, he hoped, the practicability of having a con- 
tinuous water navigation by canal, or otherwise, to near the 
head of the Potomac and of the western rivers to the head of 
some branch of the Ohio river on the west which would leave 
but a short portage between. On the 20th of May, 1754, 
while in command of the expedition to build forts at the head 
of the Ohio, Washington, in a canoe, examined the Yougheny 
river for about fifteen or twenty miles above ' ' Turkey Foot ' ' 
and three below with a view of transporting his munitions of 
war down that river in boats. Although Washington did not 
find this stream in a condition to navigate boats that would 
serve his purpose, the possible improvement of the navigation 
so that craft of sufficient size to carry freight might eventually 
be used well up into the Alleghany mountains, remained a 
favorite project with him. His long military service on the 
Virginia frontier led him to converse much with traders, 
hunters and others familiar with the character of all the streams 

29 Washington wrote December 12th, 1793, to Arthur Young in the fol- 
lowing words of Mount Vernon ; "No estate in united America is more 
pleasantly situated than this. It lies in a high drj' and healthy country ; 
in a latitude between the extremes of heat and cold, on one of the finest 
rivers in the world, a river well stocked with shad, herring, bass, carp 
and sturgeon. The borders of the Estate are washed by more than ten 
miles of tide water." 

At this time the Estate embraced in one compact body nearly 10,000 
acres of land. 



AND PATRON OF THE USEFUL ARTS. 



35 



draining to the Ohio and Mississippi and all the passes in the 
mountains between the head springs of the streams draining to 
the Potomac and the James rivers, and to consider the question 
of a practical highway by some one of them. Although the 
difficulties seemed almost insurmountable, he nevertheless 
looked hopefully to such improvements in the art of naviga- 
tion as to greatly assist in establishing a waterway for traffic 
with an easy portage between the East and what he saw would 
be the great and populous West in the near future. Washing- 
ton had called such public attention to the subject that the 
House of Burgesses of Virginia, December 5th, 1769, took the 
following action, as their journal shows : 

" Ordered, That leave be given to bring in a bill for clearing 
and making navigable the river Potomack, from the Great 
Falls of the said river up to Fort Cumberland; and that _M. 
Richard Henry I.ee and M-: Washington do prepare and bnng 
in the same. ' ' 

In 1770, and again in 1784, Washington made something of 
of a personal inspection of a possible portage between the waters 
of the Monongahela and the Potomac during his return trip 
from inspecting the Ohio bottom lands, and records his obser- 
vations in his diary. In 1784 he wrote a strong letter to the 
Governor of Virginia on the subject.3° His interest in canal 

30 In a communication from Mount Vernon October loth, 1784, to Gov. 
Harrison of Va., after discussing the question of the practicability on the 
score of policy, Washington uses the following language : " I need not re- 
mark to you, sir, that the flanks and rear of the United States are possessed 
by other powers and formidable ones, too ; nor how necessary it is to apply 
the cement of interest to build all parts of the Union together by mdissolu- 
ble bonds, especially that part of it, which lies immediately west of us, 
with the middle States. For what ties, let me ask, should we have upon 
these people? How entirely unconnected with them shall we be, and 
what troubles may we not apprehend, if the Spaniards on their right, and 
Great Britain on their left, instead of throwing stumbling blocks m their 
way as they now do, should hold out lures for other trade and alliance? 
What, when they get strength, which will be sooner than most people 
conceive (from the emigration of foreigners, who will have no particular 
predilection towards us, as well as from the removal of our own citizens) 
will be the consequence of them having formed close connexions with 
both or either of those powers, in a commercial way? It needs not, in 
my opinion, the gift of prophecy to foretell. 



30 GEORGE WASHINGTON, INVENTOR 

navigation was well known, and when James Rumsey was, in 
1786, experimenting at Shepherdstown on the Potomac with a 
boat to be propelled against a stream by machiner\\ Wash- 
ington was invited to witness the performance of his boat, so 
widely was it understood that he was an influential promoter 
of new inventions. — {See his letter to Rumsey in Sparks.) 

In 1774, when the discontent among the American Colonies 
became so great that a conference of representatives from the 
Provinces was resolved upon to secure unity of action, Wash- 
ington was selected, with great unanimity, as one of the 
delegates sent by Virginia to the meeting at Philadelphia in 
September. He attended this one and also a second Congress, 
which assembled there the following year. 

Washington's great and priceless services to America in the 
clash of arms which shortly after ensued between the Mother 
Country and the Colonies are, I am fain to believe, known to 
every American capable of enjoying civil liberty. For this 
reason the period of the Revolution is thus summarily passed 
over. It is also known that throughout that memorable 
struggle it was Washington's personal, magnetic patriotism, and 
the faith his soldiers had that he would devise means^' to over- 

" The Western States (I speak now from my own observation) stand as 
it were upon a pivot. The touch of a feather would turn them any way. 
They have looked down the Mississippi, until the Spaniards, very im- 
politically I think for themselves, threw difficulties in their way ; and 
they looked that way for no other reason than because they could glide 
gently down the stream ; without considering, perhaps, the difficulties of 
the voyage back again, and the time necessary to perform it in, and be- 
cause the}^ have no other means of coming to us but by long land trans- 
portations and unimproved roads. These causes have hitherto checked 
the industry of the present settlers ; for except the demand for provisions 
occasioned by the increase of population, and a little flour, which the 
necessities of the Spaniards compel them to buy, they have no incitement 
to labor. But smooth the road, and make easy the way for them, and 
then see what an influx of articles will be poured upon us ; how amazing 
your exports will be increased by them, and how amply we shall be 
compensated for any trouble and expense we may encounter to effect it." 

31 Pen-pictures of Washington by capable hands at diflFerent periods of 
his life, possess an especial interest. The following description of the 
General's personal appearance in 1778 is taken from Dr. James Thatcher's 
"Military Journal of the Revolution," page 150 ; 



AJSD PATEOX OF THE USEFTL AETS. 37 

come the apparently insurmomitable difectiity of keeping 
him to his forces in the field against the enemy, in spite 
of an empty exchequer, a depleted commissary and a lack of 

~'- i ytn--. ---. i ■: T - - i - : t of oar Cocunaiider-iii-CInef is that erf" the perfect gentle- 
He IS remarkablj' tall, fiill six feet, erect and well 
' roportioa of Ids joints and mnscles ^>pear to be 

-z.: r-r^er of liis mmd. The sei ei iitj of his ooante- 

-iL.~ iepoctment. impart a stroi^inipressiaa of that 

i iT " - : uliar chaiactesistacs, and no one can «^'=»««i in 

L h \'.--z.- ; - T L : i r . ' of his ^""*> and aseociatii^ 'with his 

" - T - : - - i ; t ■ - -■; catire of a benign and d^mfied 

= - " L : - T ' = L ; . :. T i lo Une. TT«» w eaifc his hair in a 

:: : : ^ ■- _ rr: T i : i ;k sjod powdered in a manner 

; 7 r - ' - n ; i I r r i: spiers a native gravity, bat 

- — ^ 1-^= i? a bine coat with two 

-:^ -:. t ::--; rtrsd hat with a blade 

:-;^iir _ i.;-i.: - ; ri. boots and soars, in 



: ~ the arst voiume of Sparks, page i io, 
' - hington : ' ' From an order, which 

rir : -.iie size of his person. He de- 
:: 1 r ' rnonably made ; if anything 
:- ;_".^ --;= ids that his hmbs were 

Z.-Z --.:- -.1. In exact measnre, his 



iC- S.C '. 



.-.: ^ -^ r:u - ^T ir . :: I— r-r ".Vashington's personal ap- 

^iTi-L-.t -jir r^r .: rr :: r V r^-. - -render was published in the 

L-.zi^:i J/i/.^;iW -n tiz z'^/llowiig lo^g-i^ge ; "General Washington is 
now in the forty-seTenth year of his age. He is a tall, well-made man, 
r^-;:tr !irge-boned, and has agentet! iZirtss. His featoies are manly 
ir 1 : his eyes are a blnish Ci?: iz i try lively ; his hair is a deep 

" ~r -.5 :"i:e rather long, and n^rhti :.'- :'r.r -mallpox, his com- 
-: :-:rr:t srd without mu:!i ::. r H- utterance sensible, 
' rtl i-1 "uL There :; i r-n. r-^^ iignity about 

.:J: 3. ;-.: ree of eractf ' - r-- zi- : eHent under- 

hXi ciiicC"»i jUg-Ic ii'i^^i — z. : r. . ;^ ; _. rnciiCi, a. lociicr to iic wc^^r^iiiig soldier, 
gentle in his manner- .z :t — p tr reserved ; a total stranger to religions 
prejudices; in mora.'.- .:-' r: ^ : hi/.r and never known to exceed the 
bounds of the mos: .- _ 1 . r ----- t In a word, all his friends and 
aoqnaintances allovr .^ - -- -' zt - :edin his own person a more 

perfect alliance of : t r. -; :: r. - J: / ^ rpher with the talents of a 
generaL Candor, sincerity, iri ; -licity seem to be the 

striking featnres of his charai-.tr ^- :=s:on ofers, the power 

of displaying the nc^: ie:emi :r.- i ri er; --i ;- impendence of spirit." 



38 GEORGE WASHINGTON, INVENTOR 

clothing. 32 This was a period of extreme hardships and the 
deficiencies in necessary supplies put to a supreme test the 
greatness of Washington as a leader and a patriot ; and 
required a fortitude and an inventive genius of the highest 
order to keep his army together. His virtues and rectitude 
from the beginning and his conduct at every stage of the 
contest determined the end and crowned the work. Washing- 
ton was referred to by lyOrd Byron as the great Cincinnatus of 
the West, who, like his classic prototype, was called from his 
favorite pursuit, that of agriculture, to command the armies of 
his country, in defence of its liberty, against a formidable 
enemy. Having brought the struggle to a successful issue, 
Washington, like Cincinnatus, was tempted with a crown, and 
like him unconditionally laid down supreme power to become 
once more the private citizen ; and returned, like Cincinnatus, 
to his plow and to peaceful pursuits. 

Washington possessed, to an eminent degree, those special 
qualities which are characteristic of the most astute inventors, 
and had not his time been so fully taken up in the important 
affairs of his country, he would, in all probability, have given 

32 The following extract from the "Travels of the Marquis de Chas- 
tellux in North America in the years i78o-'8i-'82," forcibly illustrates 
this point ; 

"Four or five miles from Fishkill, I saw some felled trees, and an opening in the 
woods, which on coming nearer I discovered to be a camp, or rather huts inhabited by 
some hundred invalid soldiers. These invalids were all in very good health ; but it is 
necessary to observe, that in the American armies, every soldier is called an invalid, who 
is unfit for service ; now these had been sent here because their clothes were truly in- 
valids. These honest fellows, for I will not say creatures, (they know too well how to 
suffer, and are suffering in too noble a cause) were not covered, even with rags ; but their 
steady countenance, and their good arms in good order, seemed to supply the defect of 
clothes, and to display nothing but their courage and their patience." 

Washington in writing Gov. Trumbull on the condition' and needs of 
the army December 29th, 1777, says ; "I assure you sir, it is not easy to 
give you a just and accurate idea of the sufferings of the army at large, 
of the loss of men on this account [want of clothing]. Were they to be 
minutely detailed your feelings would be wounded, and the relation would 
probably be received with a degree of doubt and discredit. We had in 
camp, on the 23d inst., by a field return then taken, not less than 2,898 
men unfit for duty, by reason of their being barefoot and otherwise naked. 
Besides this number, suflBciently distressing of itself, there are many others 
detained in hospitals and crowded in farmers' houses for the same causes." 



AND PATRON OF THE USEFUL ARTS. 39 

much attention to improvements in agriculture and the 
machinery and implements used in the domestic arts, which 
are so essential to the comforts of civilized life. Washington' 
had made for him the first pump used in the town of Alex- 
andria, and another at Mount Vernon, at a time when but 
few had been put in competition with ' ' the old oaken bucket, ' ' 
the rope and windlass, or the balance lift, so common in wells 
throughout the South in early days. He had the genius to see 
things as they were and to appreciate their true relation. He 
eliminated accidental causes or other circumstances, whether as 
to time, men or things ; make original observations and reflect 
upon what he saw. He could make combinations, or divide 
forces, and had a just sense of the bearing and influence of one 
thing upon another. 

About the period of his return to Mount Vernon, after the 
war, he was in the enjoyment of his highest physical 
vigor and mental activity. 33 At this time circumstances had 

33 1 am confident I will be excused in asking space, in a note, for this 
exquisite, though but little known, pen portrait of General Washington, 
drawn by the capable and appreciative hand of the Marquis de Chastellux, 
near the close of the Revolution ; 

" Here would be the proper place to give the portrait of General Washington, but 
what can my testimony add to the idea already formed of him ? The continent of 
North America, from Boston to Charleston, is a great volume, every page of which 
presents his eulogium. I know, that having had the opportunity of a near inspection, 
and of closely observing him, some more particular details may be expected from me ; 
but the strongest characteristic of this respectable man is the perfect union which 
reigns between the physical and moral qualities which compose the individual ; one 
alone will enable you to judge of all the rest. If you are presented with medals of 
Caesar, of Trojan, or Alexander, on examining their features, you will still be led to 
ask what was their stature, and the form of their persons ; but if you discover, in a heap 
of ruins, the head or the limb of an antique Apollo, be not curious about the other 
parts, but rest assured that they all were conformable to those of a god. Let not this 
comparison be attributed to enthusiasm ! It is not my intention to exaggerate, I wish 
only to express the impression General Washington has left on my mind ; the idea of 
a perfect whole, that cannot be the product of enthusiasm, which rather would reject 
it, since the effect of proportion is to diminish the idea of greatness. Brave without 
temerity, laborious without ambition, generous without prodigality, noble without 
pride, virtuous without severity ; he seems always to have confined himself within those 
limits, where the virtues, by clothing themselves in more lively, but more changeable 
and doubtful colours, may be mistaken for faults. This is the seventh year that he has 
commanded the army, and that he has obeyed the Congress ; more need not be said, 
especially in America, where they know how to appreciate all the merits contained in 
this simple fact. I,et it be repeated that Conde was intrepid, Turenne prudent, Eugene 
adroit, Catinat disinterested. It is not thus that Washington will be characterized. 
It will be said of him, AT the end of a long civil war, he had nothing with 
WHICH HE COULD ui;PKOACH HIMSELF. If any tiling Can be morc marvellous than 



40 GEORGE WASHINGTON, INVENTOR 

forced upon him a very heavy correspondence, foreign and 
domestic, on a multitude of subjects. His social duties, too, 
had become exacting, in receiving and entertaining, at his own 
house, great numbers of visitors of note from the several States, 
and also from abroad. In this office he was ably assisted by 
Mrs. Washington. 34 He now planned extensive improvements 
to the Mount Vernon Mansion-house and its grounds. While 
he was strongly imbued with progressive ideas, he was by no 
means an iconoclast. He therefore endeavored to preserve 
whatever was serviceable in the old Mansion-house, which he 
did by extending it to the north and south, and raising the 
whole structure to two full stories with a finished attic, crowned 
with a cupola. He also erected a wide, open piazza^s the full 

such a character, it is the unanimity of the public suffrages in his favour. Soldier, 
magistrate, people, all love and admire him ; all speak of him in terms of tenderness 
and veneration. Does there then exist a virtue capable of restraining the injustice of 
mankind ; or are glory and happiness too recently established in America, for envy to 
have deigned to pass the seas ? 

" In speaking of this perfect vyhole of which General Washington furnishes the 
idea, I have not excluded exterior form. His stature is noble and lofty, he is well 
made, and exactly proportioned ; his physiognomy mild and agreeable, but such as to 
render it impossible to speak particularly of any of his features, so that in quitting 
him, you have onlj' the recollection of a fine face. He has neither a grave nor a 
familiar air, his brow is sometimes marked with thought, but never with inquietude ; 
in inspiring respect, he inspires confidence, and his smile is always the smile of 
benevolence." [Pages 71-72.] 

34 Although relieved from public office, Washington was not freed from 
care and the obligations that follow those who have filled important posi- 
tions. The rest craved by the General and Mrs. Washington was not 
granted to them. Indeed, it may be doubted if they found any considerable 
retirement in their loved Mount Vernon home. Writing to General Knox, 
Washington said : "It is not the letters from my friends which give me 
trouble, or add aught to mj- perplexity. It is references to old matters, with 
which I have nothing to do ; applications which oftentimes cannot be com- 
plied with ; inquiries which would require the pen of an historian to satisfy; 
letters of compliment, as unmeaning perhaps as they are troublesome, 
but which must be attended to, and the commonplace business which 
employs my pen and my time, often disagreeably. Indeed these, with 
company, deprive me of exercise, and unless I can obtain relief, must be 
productive of disagreeable consequences." 

35 The piazza is from end to end 96 feet long by 12 feet 8 inches wide 
with the border, and two stories high, supported on eight graceful 
square columns, the effect of the whole, whether viewed from the lawn or 
from the deck of a steamer on the river, is light and pleasing. The 



AND PATRON OF THE USEFUL ARTS. 41 

height and length of the mansion on the river front ; and while 
exercising proper economy, he did all the work of alteration in 
the most substantial manner after his own designs and 
drawings. 

Washington's love of agriculture and a life in the open coun- 
try led him to see beauty, to an unusual degree, in the forms 
and colorings of nature ; so that in riding through the woods, 
he was frequently delighted with the grace and symmetry of 
some tree, a specimen of which he would instantly resolve to 
have on his lawn and note the fact in his diary, describing it 
by name and where it was to be found, af also where he de- 
sired it to be planted. 36 The following extracts from his diary 
illustrate his admiration for our forest trees : 

" Tuesday, Febry. 22'^. ijS^ ^ * * jh * Removed two 
pretty large & full-grown lilacs to the N? Garden gate — one on 

enlarged and renovated "cottage" or "villa," as Washington occasion- 
ally called his old mansion, was nearly completed in 1785. Although both 
the General and his wife earnestly desired a quiet, peaceful home, the man 
who had laid the foundation of the republic was too great a personage to 
be left alone or in seclusion. The enlargement of his "villa " was prac- 
tically forced upon him to enable him to give a respectable reception to 
the many visits he was daily receiving from his countrymen, strangers, I 
soldiers, and civilians, who by a sort of intuition and sense of reverence, 1 
began pilgrimages to " Mount Vernon," which have never been inter- 
rupted, but are yearly on the increase. This broad piazza, during the 
General's lifetime, was a sort of trysting place in summer evenings where,] 
the family, guests and neighbors in their informal calls assembled for an ,; 
hour's chat at the close of day. In the appraiser's list of household' 
effects at Mount Vernon after the General's death, thirty Windsor chairs 
were enumerated as furniture on the piazza. 

36 The ornamental lawn on the west front of the mansion, containing 
about 20 acres, with serpentine carriage drive along each side, was laid 
out by the General himself, the drawing of which, in his own hand, is still 
preserved. Directly in front of the center door of the house is a large circle 
with a sun dial in the center, it is an exact reproduction of the one placed 
there by the General. Along each side of the serpentine roadway, Washing- 
ton planted a great variety of our most beautiful native forest trees for orna- 
ment and shade. A number of the trees planted by the General still 
flourish on this lawn. Extensive gardens border on these grounds. The 
flower garden on the north and the vegetable garden on the south, are both 
enclosed by massive brick walls. The flower garden and green house is 
maintained in nearly its original form and contains many of the same 
kinds of plants cultivated there by General Washington. 



42 GEORGE WASHINGTON, INVENTOR 

each side, taking up as much dirt with the roots as c? be well 
obtained. * * * I also removed from the woods and old 
fields, several ^-oung trees of the sassafras, Dogwood & Red- 
bud, to the Shrubbery on the N^ side the grass plot. 

" Wed7icsday, 2j^ * * * * Brought down a number 
of young Aspen trees from one of Saml Jenkins's near the old 
Court House to transplant into the serpentine Avenues to the . 

door. pt^ fi^. 

'' Monday, 28^!' ***** Planted all the Mulberry "V^ 5-^ 
trees. Maple trees, & Black gums in my Serpentine walks — (J y^C 
and the Poplars on the right walk. * * * Also planted 4 fj^pt^ 
trees from M. Hole, the name unknown but of a brittle wood 
which has the smell of Mulberry. 

" Ttiesday, March li' 1785 * * * * Planted the re- ^ '^ 
mainder of the Poplars and part of the Ash Trees — also a circle v 
of Dogwood with a red bud in the Middle close to the old . ; 
cherry tree near the south garden H? ^ C^ 

" Wed?icsday, 2*? * * * * Planted the remainder of ' 

the Ash Trees — in the Serpentine Walks — the remainder of 
the fringe trees in the Shrubberies — all the black haws — all 
the large berried thorns — with a small berried one in the 
middle of each clump — 6 small berried thorns with a large one 
in the middle of each clump — all the swamp red berry bushes 
& one clump of locust trees. 

' ' Thursday, j^ * * * * Planted the remainder of the 
lyocusts — Sassafras — small berried thorns & yellow Willow in 
the Shrubberies as also the red buds — a honey Locust and Service . 

berry tree by the south garden House — likewise took up the 
clump of lyilacs that stood at the corner of the south grass plot 
& transported them to the Shrubberies & standards at tlie ; ■■' 

South garden gate — the Althea trees were also planted. ' ' ' 

Washington records in his "Journal of my Journey Over 
the Mountains, ' ' page 20 : 

" Stinday, March i^!' 174-7-8 — Rode to his Lordship's Quar- 
ters ; about 4 Miles higher up y^ River we went through Most 
beautiful Groves of Sugar trees & spent y^ best part of y^ Day 
in admiring y« trees & richness of y*^ land." 

It would. seem from his Diary, while at Mount Vernon, from 
1783 to 1789, that he was endeavoring to have good represen- 



J\/ ' 



c 



-^ 



^>^'^' 



AND PATRON OP THE USEFUL ARTS. 43 

•lative specimens of all or most of our beautiful forest trees 
which would thrive in this climate transplanted to his grounds. 
He continued to give close, personal attention to this matter 
until he was called to assume the duties of President of the 
United States. 37 Even then he did not intermit his interest, as 
his letters of instruction to his overseers, and his shipments of 

37 The 4th of March, 1789, had been fixed for the meeting of the First 
Congress under the Constitution of the United States, and an election for 
President directed to be held in February, 1789. It had been announced 
that the people of nine of the thirteen States had approved and adopted 
the Constitution submitted through the Legislatures to them. Two, 
Rhode Island and North Carolina, had not come to a decisive action, but 
did within two years provided for. The absence of a quorum prevented 
the organization of Congress until the 6th of April. The votes of the 
electors were then opened and counted, and George Washington's elec- 
tion to the Presidency of the United States, which was duly declared, and 
a special messenger, Charles Thomson, dispatched to Mount Vernon with 
an official letter from the President of the Senate to General Washington 
notifying him of the fact and requesting his attendance. Washington 
was deeply sensible of the responsibility attached to the office, as the fol- 
lowing extract from his diary written the day of his departure for New 
York, April 16, 1789, Mrs. Washington following him, leaving Mount 
Vernon 19th May: "About ten o'clock I bade adieu to Mount Vernon, 
to private life, and to domestie felicity, and with a mind oppressed with 
more anxious and painful sensations than I have words to express, set out 
for New York in company with Mr. Thomson and Colonel Humphreys, 
with the best disposition to render service to my country in obedience to 
its calls, but with less hope of answering its expectations." In a letter 
to General Knox April ist, 1789, he wrote ; "I feel for those members of 
the new Congress, who hitherto have given an unwavering attendance at 
the theater of action. For myself, the delay may be compared to a re- 
prieve ; for in confidence I tell :}'0U, (with the world it would obtain little 
credit) that my movements to the chair of government will be accompa- 
nied by feelings not unlike those of a culprit who is going to the place of 
his execution. So unwilling am I in the evening of life, nearly consumed 
in public cares, to quit a peaceful abode for an ocean of difficulties, with- 
out that competency of political skill, abilities, and inclination, which 
are necessary to manage the helm. I am sensible that I am embarking 
the voice of the people and a good name of my own, on this voyage, but 
what returns can be made of them. Heaven alone can foretell. Integrity 
and firmness are all I can promise. These, be the voyage long or short, 
shall never forsake me ; although I may be deserted by all men ; for of 
the consolations which are to be derived from them, under any circum- 
stances, the world cannot deprive me." 



44 GEORGE WASHINGTON, INVENTOR 

shrubbery to Mount Vernon testify. A bill from Bartram's 
Nursery at Philadelphia, as late as 1792, of choice shrubbery 
to make good failures of plants in a former order, is preserved 
in the Department of State. The first has also been preserved, 
but is without date. They illustrate so well his taste and fond- 
ness for beautiful trees and shrubbery and his attention to the 
embellishment of his Mount Vernon grounds, that the latter 
order is given in full in a note. 3^ 

38 The writer some years since gave a copy of this list of trees and 
shrubs, the original of which is preserved among the Washington papers 
in the Department of State, to one of the vice-i-egents of Mount Vernon, 
who, it is understood, is making an effort to have restored to the lawns 
and gardens as many specimens of the trees and shrubs, known to have 
been planted there by Washington, as is practicable. It is also reported 
that this lady submitted the list to one of the leading florists of our 
country and has already made progress in having specimens called for in 
this list, planted at Mount Vernon. 

List of Trees Shrubs &c^ had of Jn9 Bartram to supply the place of 
those of his catalogue of M; 92 which failed. 

Novr y\^ 1792. 

N"? 2.d Ulex europeus E grows frm 3 to 4 feet high. Kmbellished with 

sweet scented flowers of a fine yellow colour, 
a. 3. Hypericum kalmeanum 3 to 4 ft. Profusely garnished with fine 

gold coloured blossoms — 2 plants. 
4. Hyperie; Angustifolium 3 to 6 ft. Evergreen, adorned with fine 

yellow flowers. 
e. 5. Taxus procumbens 3 to 6 ft. Evergreen — of a splendid full green 

throughout the year — red berries. 

6. Buscus aureus E 3 to 10 ft. Elegant, called gilded box. 

7. Daphne mezerium E. i to 3 ft. An earlj- flowering sweet scented 

little Shrub. 
7. Calycanthus floridus 4 to 8 ft. Odoriferous, its blossoms scented like 

the Pine apple. 
E. 10. .(Esculus hippocastanum 20, 40, to 50 ft. A magnificent flowering 

and shady iree. 
II. Evonimus atrapurpurius 6 to 8 ft. Its fruit of a bright crimson in 

the autumn {bnr?ting bush) 3 plants. 
13. Franklinia 3, 15 to 2oft. Flowers large, white and fragrant. Native 

of Georgia. 
16. Kalmia angustifolia i to 2 ft. Evergreen garnished with crimson 

speckled flowers, 4 plants. 

24. Halesia tetraptera 4, 10, to 15 ft. Flowers abundant, white, of the 

shape of little bells. 

25. Viburnum opulifolium 3 to 7 ft. Of singular beauty in flower & fruit. 
27. Virburnum alnifolium 3 to 6 ft. Handsome flowering shrub. 

29. Sorbus Sativa E 10, 15 to 30 ft. It's fruit pear and apple shaped, as 

large and well tasted when mellow. 
31. Sorbus aucuparia 8, 15 to 30 ft. Foliage elegant ; embellished with 

unihcllr, of coral red berries. 



AND PATRON OP THE USEFUL ARTS. 45 

Washington was strongly inclined to engage in experimental 
tests and demonstrations, and on a wide range of subjects, as 
the following extracts from his Diary will evince : 

"' Dece7nber i, 1783. ****** jn order to try 
the difference between burning Spermaciti and tallow candles 
— I took one of each 

"The i?^ weighing 3 oz 10 p 6 gr 
" 2? Ditto 5 " 2 p 
and lighted them at the same instant — the first burnt 8 hours 
and 21 minutes ; when of the latter there remained 14 penny- 
weights which continued to burn one hour and a quarter 
longer, making in all 9 hours and 30 minutes. — By which it 
appears (as both burnt without flairing) that, estimating 
spermaciti Candles at 3/ per lb & Tallow candles at i/pT lb 
the former is dearer than the latter as 30 is to nearly 13. In 
other words more than 2% dearer." 

e. 36. Stewartea malachodendron 5 to 8 ft. Floriferous, the flowers large 
and white, embellished with a large tuft of black or purple 
threads in their centre. 

38. Styrax grandifolium 3 to 10 ft. A most charming flowering shrub, 

blossoms snow white, & of the most grateful scent (call'd 
Snow-drop tree.) 

39. Philadelphus coronarius E 4, 6, 10 ft. A sweet flowering shrub (called 

mock orange). 

40. Philadelphus inodorus 5, 7, 10 ft. His robe a silver flowered mantle. 
641. Pinus Strobus 50, 80, 100 ft. Magnificent! he presides in the ever- 
green Groves (White Pine), 4 plants. 

*f42. Pinus communis E 20, 40, 60 ft. A stately tree, foliage of a Sea 
green colour, and exhibits a good appearance whilst young. 
{Scotch Fir.) 

*43. Pinus Larix E 40 to 60 ft. Elegant figure & foliage. 

45. Robinia villosa i, 2, 3, 5, 6 ft. A gaj^ shrub enrobed with plum'd 
leaves and roseat flowers, j plants. 

52. Prunus chicasa 6, 8, 10 ft. Early flowers, very fruitful ; the fruit 
nearly round, cleft, red, purple, yellow of an inticing look, 
most agreeable taste & wholesome, (chicasaw Plum.) 

57. .^sculus alba i, 4, 6 ft. The branches terminate with long erect 
spikes of sweet white flowers. 

E 58. Juniperus sabina i to 5. Evergreen. 

+ 54. .(Esculus pavia 6, 8, 10, 12, 15 ft. It's light and airy foliage crim- 
son and variegated flowers, present a gay & mirthful appear- 
ance ; continually, whilst in bloom, visited by the brilliant 
thundering Huming-bird. The root of this tree is esteemed 
preferable to Soap, for scouring & cleansing woolen clothes. 
{2 plants) . 

c. 63. Myrica gale 2 to 4 ft. Possesses an highly aromatic, and very agree- 
able scent. { J plants). 

69. Mespilus pubescens 2, 3, 4 ft. An early flowering shrub of great ele- 
gance, produces very pleasant fruit. {2 plants). 



46 GEORGE WASHINGTON, INVENTOR 

It is not to be wondered at, perhaps, that in a new country, 
sparsely settled, and with but few skilled mechanics, early 
colonial farmers as a general rule continued to use the imple- 
ments they found in use, and gave but little thought to their 
efficiency or made any effort to improve them. The use of fer- 
tilizers, too, was grudgingly and slowly resorted to by Ameri- 
can farmers, who affected to have the most unbounded faith in 
the strength and endurance of the virgin soil of the country. 
The better farmers, however, graduall}^ began to study the best 
methods of keeping up the tilth of their lauds, and to experi- 
ment with different fertilizers and test the relative values of 
them for the various crops. The following extract from Wash- 

E. f. 72. Colutia arboroscens 3, 6, 10 ft. Exhibits a good appearance ; 
foliage pinnated, of a soft pleasant green colour, interspers'd 
with large yellow papillionacious flowers in succession. 

77. Prunus Divaricata 6, 8 ft. Diciduous, flowers white in raumes, stems 

diverging & branches pendulous. 

78. Hydrangia arborescens 3, 5, to 6 ft. Ornamental in shruberies — 

flowers white in large corymbes. 

79. Andromeda exilaris i to 3 ft. Evergreen. 

80. Acer pumilum, s, montanum 4 to 8 ft. Handsome shrub for coppices 

foliage singular, younger shoots red. 

84 Rubus odoratus 3 to 7 ft. Foliage beautiful ; flowers of the figure, 
colour & fragrance of the Rose. 

E. 92. Laurus nobilis 10, 20, 30 ft. Sweet Bay, a celebrated evergreen — 
leaves odoriferous. 

c. loi. Arundo donax 5, 6, 8 ft. Maiden Cane. 
In addition to the above, — 

N9 I. Mespilus pyracantha. Evergreen Thorn, a very beautiful flower- 
ing shrub ; in flowers & fruit, evergreen in moderate climates, 
and not to be exceeded in usefulness, for hedge Fences &ca 

October 30*11 1792. 
The following Letters in the margin serve to explain the natural soil 
& situation of the Trees, Shrubs &ca 

a. rich, moist, loose or loamy soil, iu shade of other trees. 

b. rich deep soil. 

c. wet moorish soil. 

d. Dr}^ indifferent soil. 

e. A good loamy moist soil in any situation. 

f. Any soil and situation. 
E. Exoticks. — 

[The following in General Washington's handwriting is written on 
the same sheet.] 

Directions for disposing of the Trees, Shrubs &ca mentioned in the 
aforegoing list.— The intention of giving the heights to which they may 
grow, is, that except in the centre of the Six Ovals in the west Lawn ;— 
and at each end of the two large Ovals ; none of the tall, or lofty grow- 
ing trees (evergreens) are to be planted.— But this I would have done in 



AND PATRON OF THE USEFUL ARTS. 47 

ington's Diary shows that he was also engaged in this class of 
experiments : — 

In his notes and observations on agriculture, under date of 
April 7th, 1786, he records these experiments : " Cut two or 
three rows of wheat (cape wheat within six inches of the 
ground), it being near eighteen inches high, that which was 
first sown, and the blades of the whole singed with the frost." 

"■Monday, J any 3 o^!}- 



78 


'6 


* 


* 


* 


* 


* 


* 


* 


* 


* 


* 


* 


* 


* 


* 


* 


* 


* 


* 


* 


* 


* 


* 



On sixteen square rod of ground in my lower pasture, I put 
140 Bushels of what we call Marie viz on 4 of these, N° W^ 
corner were placed 50 bushels — on 4 others S° W^ corner 30 
bushels — on 4 others S° E*^ corner 40 bushels — and on the re- 
maining 4=20 bushels. This Marl was spread on the sod in 
these preportions — to try first whether what we have denomi- 
nated to be Marl possesses any virtue as a manure — and 
secondly — if it does, the quantity proper for an acre. ' ' 

In a letter to General Lincoln, dated Mount Vernon, 6th Feb. , 
1786, General Washington uses the following language in 
relation to a supposed important discovery : 

' ' The discovery of extracting fresh water from salt, by a 
simple process and without the aid of fire, will be of amazing 
importance to the sons of Neptune, if it is not vitiated or ren- 
dered nauseous by the operation, and can be made to answer 
all the valuable purposes of other fresh water at sea. Every 

all of them whether any thing occupies these particular spots, or not : — 
removing them if they do, to some other parts of the aforesaid Ovals. — 
At each end of the 4 Smaller Ovals, trees of middling growth (for in- 
stance those which Rise to 15, 20, or even to thirty feet) may be planted. — 
My meaning is, that in the Centre of every Oval (if it is not already 
there) one of the lofty growing trees should be planted ; and the same 
done at each end of the two large Ovals ; — and at the ends of the 4 
Smaller ones, trees of lesser size to be planted. — The other parts of all of 
them to receive the Shrubs — putting the tallest, always, nearest the Mid- 
dle, letting them decline more into dwarfs towards the outer parts. — This 
was my intention when they were planted in the Ovals last Spring — but 
I either did not express myself clearly — or the directions were not at- 
tended to. — I now hope they M^ill be understood, and attended to, both. — 
The two trees marked thus (*) in the Margin, I would have planted by 
the Garden gates opposite to the vSpruce Pines. — I believe common pine 
are now in the places where I intended these, but they may be removed, 
being placed there merely to fill up the space. — If any of these tall grow- 
ing trees are now in any other part of the Ovals, except those here men- 
tioned (and that you may be enabled better to ascertain this, I send you 



48 GEORGE WASHINGTON, INVENTOR 

maritime power iu the world in this case ought, in my opinion, 
to offer some acknowledgment to the inventor." {Spark's 
Washingtoyi) . 

'' Feby. 6-- 1786. ****** Planting pines in the 
wilderness on the left of the lawn and spading the ground there. 

' ' Friday 10 Feby. ****** Making up the banks 
round y? Serpentine walks to the front gate. 

''Saturday lA^ * * :jc * * ^K Brought a Goose & 
Gander of the Chinese breed of Geese, from the Reverand 
MT Griffiths — and also two of the large white (or Portugal) 
Peach Trees ; — and 2 Scions from a tree growing in his garden 
to which he could give no name — The last for my Shrubberies. 

' ' Tiiesday Feb-y i^{'^ * * * * Kmployed all the women 
and weak hands (who on account of the snow) could not work 
out, in picking the wild onions from the Eastern Shore Oat for 
seed. 

'' Monday March d^'' ************ 

* * Returned to the erection of my deer Paddock, which 
the bad weather had impeaded, brought carts from the Planta- 
tion to assist iu drawing in the materials for the work. 

' ' Monday March i^^!'- ****** Began to raise 
the Mound of Earth on the right of the Gate coming in. 

" Thursday March 16^!^ *********** 
Finished the Mound on the right and planted the largest 

a list of what went from Bartrams Garden last Spring) I would have them 
removed, so as to conform to these directions ; — and if there be more 
with what are now sent, than are sufficient to comply with these direc- 
tions, there may be one on each side of the two large Ovals, making five 
in each. — You will observ^e that these Pinus Strobus (or white Pines) are 
the loftiest of all the Tall trees which now are, or have been sent ; and 
that it is these which are to form your centre trees — and the end trees of 
the two large Ovals. — 

I must request also that except the large trees for the Centre & sides 
no regularity may be observed in planting the other in the Ovals. — This 
I particularly desired last Spring, but found when I got home it was not 
attended to. — 

When you have disposed of all the trees & Shrubs agreeably to these 
directions return this Paper, and the general list which accompanies it, 
back again to me ; as I may have occasion for them in procuring plants 
iu future. 

Note— If there are now growing in the Ovals, as many as 4 of the Hemlock Spruce 
(sent last Spring) let them be taken up when the ground is hard & deep frozen in 
the Winter, & placed on the sides of the two large Ovals instead of the white 
Pines, w*^." you might have put there in consequence of the aforegoing directions. 



AND PATRON OF THE USEFUL ARTS. 49 

weeping Willow in my nursery in the center of it — ground too 
wet to do anything to the other Mound on the left. 

'' Saturday, March IS'!" ****** Got the Mound 
on the left so far compleated as to plant the next largest of my 
weeping willows thereon. 

" Tuesday, March 28^!^ * * * Replaced the following 
trees in my Shrubberies which were dead or supposed to be so 
viz 10 Swamp Magnolia 4 Red Buds — 5 Black Haws — 3 
Locusts I swamp Red Berry. 

' ' Tuesday, April 4}!^ 1786 * * Planted 6 of the pride of 
China brought from MT Lyons by G. A. Washington in my 
Shrubberies in front of the House — 3 on each side the Right & 
left Walks between the Houses & garden gates — and also the 
two young trees sent me some time ago by MT Griffith to which 
no name had been given — these latter were planted, one on 
each side the right & left walks, — near the garden gates on the 
hither or K^ side. .\ 

'' Thursday 6^!'- ^fc * h: * * * Transplanted 46 of the 
large Magnolia of S? Carolina from the box brought by G. A. 
Washington last year — viz 6 at the head of each of the Ser- 
pentine Walks next the circle — 26 in the Shrubbery or grove 
at the south end of the house & 8 in that at the N? end — the 
ground was so wet, more could not at this time be planted 
there." 

The following extracts from Washington's Diary give the 
details of his experiments in making what he called a ' ' Barrel 
Plow," to be attached to a harrow in such a manner as to 
deposit seed in the ground when in motion : 

' 'Friday April f!" 1786 ***** Rid to Muddy hole 
Plantation and finding the ground which had been twice plowed 
to make my experiments in was middling dry in some places, 
though wet in others, I tried my drill or Barrel Plow, which 
requiring some alterations in the harrow, obliged me to bring it 
to the Smith' s-Shop — this suspended my further operation with 
it to-day. 

''April 8^'' Sowed oats to-day in drills at Muddy Hole with 
my barrel plough *******if:** 

"Apyil 11^'^ Sowed twenty-six rows of barley in the same 
field at Muddy Hole in the same manner with the drill Plough, 



50 GEORGE WASHINGTON, INVENTOR 

and with precisely the same workings ( culture) the Oats had — 
adjoining thereto — This was done with 12 q^^ of S^. " 

During the spring, summer and fall of this year he con- 
tinues experiments with his barrel plough and says : ' ' Will 
try the experiment of sowing with a six foot barrel and with 
grain dropped six inches square apart. ' ' 

''Saturdays'!' ****** Rid a little after sun rise 
to Muddy hole to try my drill plow again which with the 
alteration of the harrow yesterday I find will fully answer my 
expectation — and that it drops the grains thicker, or thinner in 
proportion to the quantity of seed in the Barrel — the less there 
is in it the faster it issues from the holes — the weight of a 
quantity in the barrel, occasions I (presume) a pressure on the 
holes that do not admit of a free discharge of the seed through 
them — whereas a small quantity (suflScient at all times to cover 
the bottom of the barrel) is in a manner sifted through them 
by the revolution of the barrel. 

' ' I sowed with the barrel to-day in drills about 3 pints of a 
white well looking oat brought from Carolina last year by 
G. A. Washington in 7 rows running from the path leading 
from the Overseers H? to the Quarter to the west fence of the 
field where the ground was in the best order. — Afterwards I 
sowed in such other parts of the adjoining ground as could at 
any rate be worked, the common oat of the Eastern shore (after 
picking out the wild onion) but in truth nothing but the late 
season could warrent sowing in ground so wet. 

''Monday loH'^ Began my brick work to-day — first taking the 
foundations of the Garden Houses as they were first placed, 
and repairing the damages in the walls occasioned by the re- 
moval — and also began to put my pallisads on the wall. — 

' ' Compleated sowing with 20 quarts the drilled oats in the 
ground intended for experiments at Muddy hole ; which 
amounted to 38 Rows ten feet apart (including the parts of 
Rows sowed on vSaturday last) — in the afternoon I began to 
sow Barley, but finding there were too many Seeds discharged 
from the barrel notwithstanding I stopped ever}^ other hole, I 
discontinued the sowing until another Barrel with smaller holes 
c"^ be prepared. — The ground in which these oats have been 
sowed — and in which the Barley seeding had commenced — has 



AND PATRON OF THE USEFUL ARTS. 51 

been plowed, listed (as it is called, that is 3 furrow ridges) and 
twice harrowed in with the manure afterw'^? 

' ' Began also to sow the Siberian Wheat which I had obtained 
from Baltimore by means of Col Tilghman, at the Ferry 
Plantation in the ground laid apart there for experiments. — 
This was done upon ground which, some time ago, had been 
marked off by furrows 8 feet apart in which a second furrow 
had been run to deepen them. — 4 furrows were then plowed to 
these which made the whole 5 furrow Ridges. — These being 
done some time ago, and by frequent rains prevented sowing at 
the time intended, — had got hard, — I therefore before the seed 
was sowed, split these Ridges again, by running twice in the 
same furrow, after w'^!^ I harrowed the ridges, and where the 
ground was lumpy, run my spiked Roler with the harrow at 
the tale over it, — w':^ I found very efficacious in breaking the 
clods & pulverizing the earth ; and would have done it per- 
fectly if there had not been too much moisture remaining of 
the late rains. 

" After this harrowing & rolling where necessary, I sowed 
the wheat with my drill plow on the reduced ridges in rows 8 
feet apart — but I should have observed that after the ridges 
were split by the furrow in the middle, and before the furrows 
were closed again by the harrow — I sprinkled a little manure 
in them. — Finding the barrel discharged the wheat too fast, 
I did, after sowing 9 of the shortest (for We began at the 
farthest comer of the field) rows, I stopped every other hole in 
the barrel, and in this manner sowed 5 rows more, & still 
thinking the seed too liberally bestowed, I stopped 2 & left one 
hole open alternately, by which 4 out of 12 holes only, dis- 
charged seed, and this, as I had taken the strap of leather off 
seemed to give seed enough (though not so regular as were to 
be wished) — to the ground. 

***** Sowing the Siberian Wheat to-day, as yester- 
day at the Ferry. 

" And sowed 26 rows of Barley (except a little at each end 
w'^.^ was too wet for the ground to be worked) at Muddy hole 
below & adjoining the oats — This was done with 12 quarts of 



52 GEORGE WASHINGTON, INVENTOK 

seed and in the manner, and in ground prepared as mentioned 
yesterday. 

" JVednesdaj; i2''\ ************** 

" Rid to the fishing landing, Ferry, Dogue Run, and Muddy 
hole plantations. — Finished at the first sowing the ground 
intended for experiments with Siberian Wheat — this spot con- 
tained i6f I? 24? including the fodder H° &": which would 
reduce the cultivated land to 10 acres at most. 

"At Muddy hole, I sowed two rows of the Albany Peas in 
Drills 10 feet assunder (the same as the Oats and Barley) but 
conceiving they could not for want of support be prevented 
from falling when they sh"? come near their growth I did not 
incline to sow any more in this way but to put all the ground 
between these two rows and the fence along the road in broad 
Cast. — The ground in which these Peas were sowed was man- 
aged exactly as that had been in which the Barley & Oats (at 
this place) was — 

'' Monday May 8"} 1786 * * * * * 

**** ***** 

Sent a Carpenter to put a new axle and do some other Repairs 
to the Barrel Plow at Dogue Run. 39 

39 Washington in the following letter to his friend Theodoric Bland, 
Esq., to whom he sends one of his barrel plouws for a trial, in his letter 
gives a good description of the drill ; 

Mount Vernon, 28^^ Decetnb\' 1786. 
Dear Sir, 

I am now about to fulfill my promise with respect to the drill plow and 
timothy seed. Both accompany this letter to Norfolk, to the care of IVlV Newton. The 
latter I presume is good, as I had it from a gentleman on whom I can depend. The 
former it is scarcely necessary to inform you, will not work to good effect in land that 
is very full either of stumps, stones, or large clods ; but where the ground is tolerably 
free from these and in good tilth, and particularly in light land, I am certain you will 
find it equal to your most sanguine expectation, for Indian corn, wheat barley, pease, 
or any other tolerably round grain, that you may wish to sow, or plant in this manner. 
I have sown oats very well with it, which is among the most inconvenient and unfit 
grains for this machine. 

To give you a just idea of the use and management of it, I must observe, that the 
barrel at present has only one set of holes, and these adapted for the planting of 
Indian corn, only eight inches apart in the row ; but by corking these, the same barrel 
may receive others, of a size fitted for any other grain. To make the holes, observe 
this rule ; begin small and increase the size till they admit the number of grains, or 
thereabouts you would choose to deposit in place. They should be burnt, and done by 
a guage, that all may be of a size, and made widest on the outside, to prevent the 
seeds choking them. You may, in a degree, emit more or less through the same holes, 
by increasing or lessening the quantity of seed in the barrel. The less there is in it, 



AND PATRON OF THE USEFUL ARTS. 53 

" Tuesday p^* ****** * 

Found the Flax in the Neck had come up and full thick ; — 
and that the grass seeds (rather Millet) obt*^.^ from Col? Gary 
had come up ; but none of the Saintfoin, Burnet or Rib grass 
appeared to be springing, — finished planting, with the Barrel 
Plow, the early Corn in the farthest cut in the field for experi- 
ments in the Neck. — and not having enough to compleat 
another cut in the same field I ordered all the remaining part 
of it to be drilled with common corn — accordingly about Noon 
the intermediate rows in the middle cut which had been left 
for the early corn were begun to be planted with the other. 

''Saturday J j'!'^ * * * * 

' ' Finished (yesterday evening) planting Corn with the 
Barrel Plow, in the cut intended for experiments at Dogue 
Run. 

" Ttiesday i8"' ***** ^1- Muddy hole they 
finished planting Corn about lo Oclock — At this place I tried 
a 3 hoed harrow which I had just made, with a single horse. 
— Upon the whole it answered very well — The draft seemed 

the faster it issues. The compressure is increased by the quantity, and the discharge 
is retarded thereby. The use of the band is to prevent the seeds issuing out of more 
holes than one at a time. It may be slackened or braced according to the influence 
the atmosphere has on the leather. The tighter it is provided the v?heel revolves 
easily, the better. By decreasing or multiplying the holes in the barrel, you may plant 
at any distance you please. The circumpherance of the wheels being six feet or 
seventj'-tv70 inches, divide the latter by the number of inches you intend your plants 
shall be assunder, and it gives the number of holes required in the barrel. 

By the sparse situation of the teeth in the harrow, it is designed that the ground 
may be raked without the harrow being clogged if the ground should be cloddy or 
grassy. The string when this happens to be the case, will raise and clean it with 
great ease, and is of service in turning at the ends of rows ; at which time the wheels, 
by means of the handles, are raised oflf the ground as well as the harrow, to prevent 
the waste of seed. A small bag containing about a peck of the seed you are sowing is 
hung to the nails in the right handle, and with a small tin cup the barrel is replen- 
ished with convenience, whenever it is necessary without loss of time or waiting to 
come up with the seed-bag at the end of the row. I had almost forgot to tell you that if 
the hole in the leather band, through which the seed is to pass when it comes in contact 
with the hole in the barrel should incline to gape, or the lips of it turn out, so as to 
admit the seed between the band and barrel, it must be remedied by riveting a piece 
of sheet tin, copper, or brass the width of the band and about four inches long, with a 
hole through it, the size of the one in the leather. I found this effectual. 

I am dear sir & 

g9 Washington 
To Theodoric Bland Esq 



54 GEORGE WASHINGTON, INVENTOR 

rather hard for one horse but the late rains had made the 
ground heavier than usual. 

' ' Monday May 22'^. * * Began to take up the pavement 
of the Piaza. 

" Tuesday May 2j^ * * * 

Replanting the common corn which had been drilled at Muddy 
hole — finished planting peas with the Barrel in the Neck on 
Saturday last. — And listing the corn ground at the same place 
this day, for planting" in the common way. 

" And this day began to lay the Flags in my Piaza'*° — 
Cornelius and Tom Davis assisting. 

40 The following letter is given in a note by Sparks : 

General Washington presents his compliments to M^ Rumney — would esteem it as 
a particular favor if MT Rumney would make the following enquiries as soon as con- 
venient, after his arrival in England ; and communicate the result of them by the 
Packet, or any other safe and expeditious con veyence to this country. First. The terms 
upon which the best kind of Whitehaven Flag stone— Black and White in equal quan- 
tities — could be delivered at the port of Alexandria by the superficial foot, workman- 
ship, freight and every other incidental charge included. — The stone to be 2^4 inches, 
or thereabouts, thick, and exactly a foot square— each kind. To have a rich polished 
face, and good joints so as that a neat floor may be made therewith. 

2*^*^ Upon what terms the common Irish Marble (black & white if to be had) — same 
dimentions, could be delivered as above. 

3ii2 As the General has been informed of a very cheap kind of Marble, good in 
quality, at or in the neighborhood of Ostend, he would thank M^ Rumney, if it should 
fall in his way, to institute an inquiry into this also. On the Report of M^ Rumney, 
the General will take his ultimate determination ; for which reason he prays him to 
be precise and exact. The Piazza or Colonade for which this is wanted as a floor is 
ninety two feet eight inches, by twelve feet eight inches within the margin, or border 
that surrounds it. Over and above the quantity here mentioned, if the above flags are 
cheap— or a cheaper kind of hard Stone could be had he would get as much as would 
lay floors in the Circular Colonades, or covered ways at the wings of the House— each 
of which at the outer curve is 38 feet in length by 7 feet 2 inches in width within the 
margin or border as aforesaid. 

The General being in want of a house Joiner & Bricklayer who understand their 
respective trades perfectly, would thank M^ Rumney for inquiring into the terms upon 
which such workmen might be engaged for two or three years ; (the time of service to 
commence upon the ship's arrival at Alexandria) a shorter term than two years would 
not answer, because foreigners generally have a seasoning ; which with other interup- 
tions too frequently waste the greater part of the first year— more to the disadvantage 
of the employer than the employed.— Bed board & tools to be found by the former, 
clothing by the latter. 

If two men of the above trades and of orderly and quiet deportment could be ob- 
tained for twenty five or even thirty pounds sterling per annum each (estimating dol- 
lars at 4/ 6) the General, rather than sustain the loss of time necessary for communica. 
tiou would be obliged to M^ Rumney for entering into proper obligatory articles of 
agreement on his behalf with them by the first vessel bound to this Port. 

G? Washington 
MotiNT Vernon, July 5 17S4 

To W'M RiTMNEY of Alexandria Ya 



AND PATRON OF THE USEFUL ARTS. 55 

^'Saturday 2'ji'^ Finished laying 28 courses of the pave- 
^nt in the Piaza — Weather very unfavorable for it. 



Mr. Dodge, the efficient superintendent of Mount Vernon, has fur- 
nished me with a copy of the following unpublished letter of General 
Washington to John Rumney relative to the flagging used in paving the 
piazza : 

Mount Vernon, WA-Jutie 22'^ ,1783.* 

Sir 

I stand indebted to you for two letters, one of the S^J^ of Sep., the other of the 9 ^^ 
of Feby The first should not have remained so long unacknowledged but for the ex- 
pectation I had of the second. The second lead me to expect a third ; upon the re- 
ceipt of which I had laid my account to have given you but one trouble, by replying to 
them all at the same time. 

Permit me to thank you Sir for your attention to my commissions. The Joiner 
arrived safe, and I believe will fully answer your description & expectation of him. 
He gives great satisfaction ; and seems well satisfied himself The expense of his 
passage, & your advance to him, has been paid to M^ Sanderson. I delayed mak- 
ing choice of either of the samples of Flagstones until I had seen the Irish marble ; 
and was made acquainted with the cost of it ; but as it did not come in your last ship, 
and I like the whitest & cheapest of the three kinds which you sent me by Capt. 
Atkinson ; I request the favor of you to forward by the first opportunity (with some to 
spare in case of breakage, or other accident) as much of this sort, as will floor the 
Gallery in front of my house which, within the margin, or border that surrounds it, 
(and which is already laid with a hard stone of the country) is 92 feet 7J4 inches, by 12 
feet 9'/^ inches. 

Having given the exact dimension of the floor, or space which is to be laid with 
flag-stone, I shall leave it to the workman to form them of such a size, not less than 
a foot square, and of the same dimensions as he thinks will answer best, and accord 
most with the taste of the times. 

I take it for granted that 7^ or 8d is the price of the white stone in the prepared 
state in which it was sent ; and that the shipping charges, & freight only, are to be 
added to the cost. If a rough estimate of the latter had been mentioned, it would 
have been more pleasing ; as I then could have prepared accordingly. I am at a loss 
to determine in what manner these dressed flags can be brought without incurring 
much expense, or being liable to great damage. To put them in cases will involve the 
first, and to stow them loose, the other may be sustained ; unless great care is used in 
the storage, which is rarely to be met with among Sailors,-even in Masters of vessels. 

If the flags are well dressed, a little matter will chip the edges, and break the 
corners, which, by disfiguring the work would be hurtful to the eye. 

I will give no direction therefore on this head, your own judgment on the spot, 
must dictate ; at the same time, I have but little doubt, if they are placed in the Hold 
of the Ship, with Hay and Straw to keep them from rubbing, of their coming without 
damage. 

I will soon follow this letter with a remittance from hence, or a draught on London 
for a sum to enable you to discharge the undertaker. 

In the meanwhile, let me pray you to hasten the execution, and the shipping of 
them as my Gallery needs a floor very much. 

With great esteem & regard 
I am, Sir, 

Your most ob^ YiP]^ SerY^ 
[Signed.] G? Washington. 
M^ JN? Rumney. 

* This letter, it isappreheuded, has either a false date or place where it was written. 
It is surmised 17S5 is the proper year. 



56 GEORGE WASHINGTON, INVENTOR 

' ' Tuesday Jtine 2y^h 1786 * * * Finding the hoe Har- 
row did not do good work in the drilled Corn I ordered it to 
desist and the Bar Share plow to be used, till the common corn 
was all crossed after which to use it when the ground was 
worked the other way. 

' ' Wednesday July 26^!^ iy86 ***** 

' ' Having fixed a Roller to the tale of my drill plow, and a 
brush harrow between it & the barrel, I sent it by G. A. Wash- 
ington to Muddy hole and had the intervals between the corn 
which had been left for the purpose sowed with Turnips in 
drills and with which it was done ver}^ well. "4" 

41 Throughout this summer, "Washington had paid special attention to 
all the operations on his various plantations and to improving the imple- 
ments of husbandry in use by his people. He, also, in a letter August 6 th 

1786, to Arthur Young, his English correspondent on improvements in 
agriculture, avails himself of the proffer of his services to fill an order for 
some seeds and two plows in the following words : "I will give you the 
trouble, Sir, of providing and sending to the care of Wakelin Welch, of 
London, merchant, the following articles. Two of the simplest and best 
constructed ploughs for land which is neither very heavy nor sandy ; to 
be drawn by two horses ; to have spare shares and coulters ; and a mould, 
on which to form new irons, when the old ones are worn out, or will re- 
quire repairing. I will take the liberty to observe, that some years ago, 
from a description or recommendation thereof, which I had somewhere 
met with, I sent to England for what was then called the Rotherham or 
patent plough ; and, till it began to wear and was ruined by a bungling 
country smith, that no plough could have done better work, or appeared 
to have gone easier with two horses ; but for want of a mould, which I 
neglected to order with the plough, it became useless, after the irons, 
which came with it were much worn." 

In another letter to Mr. Young from Mount Vernon, November ist, 

1787, Washington says ; "The grain Grass seeds, ploughs, &9, arrived at 
the same time agreeably to the list, but some of the former were injured, 
as will always be the case, by being put into the hold of the vessel ; 
however upon the whole, they were in much better order than these 
things are generally found to be, when brought across the Atlantic. 

"I have tried the ploughs which yon sent me, and find that they 
answer the description which you gave of them ; this is contrary to the 
opinion of almost every one who saw them before they were used ; for it 
was thought their great weight would be an insuperable objection to their 
being drawn by two horses." 



AND PATRON OF THE USEFUL ARTS. 57 

The Mount Vernon plantations were now all in good tilth, 
and Washington was picturing to himself the pleasure and 
comfort which he had long hoped to enjoy in their manage- 
ment, with time for studying the more scientific method of 
agriculture. 

The question is often asked, " What is the elevation of the 
Mount Vernon Mansion-house above the level of the Potomac 
river ? " I felicitate myself on being able to answer this inquiry 
from data ascertained by an actual leveling from the edge of 
the piazza opposite the centre door to high-water mark 
near the wharf, distant 660 feet, made by General Washington 
himself in 1786. The actual elevation of the pavement of the 
piazza above high-water mark, as ascertained by this survey, 
is 124 feet io}4 inches.^^ 

The home-life of Washington at Mount Vernon and his 
efforts to embellish it, which are told with such ingenuousness in 
his Diaries, almost compel further quotations : 

"Monday May 2p^'l 1786 — About 9 o'clock MT Tobias Lear, 
who had been previously engaged on a salary of 200 dollars, to 
live with me as a private secretary, and preceptor for Washing- 
ton Custis, a year, came here from New Hampshire, at which 
place his friends reside. ^3 

'^Friday, June 16"^ lySd. Began about 10 o'clock to put up 
the book-press in my study." 

Washington's Diaries show numerous instances of his kind- 
ness to and consideration for his servants ; visiting them when 
sick and, if seriously ill, bringing them to the home house to be 
nursed. Frequently he denominates them, as in the follow- 
ing extract, ' ' my people, ' ' in giving them a day to visit the 
Races, one-third each day ; at suitable seasons giving them a 



43 The following receipt signed W^ Shaw, the clerk who preceded Mr. 
Lear in service at Mount Vernon, in the handwriting of General Wash- 
ington, is preserved among his papers in the possession of Lawrence 
Washington ; 

" Mount Vernon, Atigust i2^r J786 Received from G. Washington tlie sum of Fifty- 
six pounds two shilling, Virg^ CurrV equal to ;C42i6 sterling in full for services rendered 
him as secretary &c from the 26'." day of July 1785 when I came into the family, until the 
arrival of Mr Lear on the 29'." day of May in the present year. 

W"^ Shaw 



GEORGE WASHINGTON, INVENTOR 



42 The following record, in Washington's handwriting, of the line of 
survey, with the several benches used in leveling from the centre door of 
the Mansion House at Mount Vernon to near the present steamboat 
wharf is preserved among the Washington papers in the Department of 
State, and of which the following is a literal transcript : 

Fall, from the level of the Piazza to high water mark in a Rectangular course from the 

centre door. — 







Fall. 




Total Fall. 






Length 
















• 














REMARKS. 




I,evel. 


Ft. 


In. 


Yi 


Ft. 


In. 


/8 




I 


12 




4 
9 










Beginning on the pavement of the Piazza, 
at the edge thereof, next the Grass. 


2 


do. 




I 


3 


I 


I 


3 


do. 




I 


2 


3 


2 


4 




4 


do. 




2 


I 


3 


4 


5 




5 


do. 




2 


2 


3 


6 


7 




6 


do. 




4 


6 


3 


II 


5 




7 


do. 




2 


4 


5 


2 


I 




8 


do. 




II 


I 


7 


I 


2 




9 


do. 


2 


8 


4 


9 


9 


6 




10 


do. 


2 


6 


2 


12 


4 







II 


do. 


3 


9 


2 


16 


I 


2 




12 


do. 


4 


3 


2 


20 


4 


4 




13 


do. 


6 


5 


4 


26 


10 





To the level, at the foot of the lowT step 


14 


do. 


4 


2 


6 


31 


I 





at Gate which is 156 feet from the pave- 


15 


do. 


5 








36 


I 





ment of the Piazza. 


16 


do. 


5 








41 


I 







17 


do. 


5 


5 





46 


6 







18 


do. 


2 


I 


6 


48 


7 


6 


To Post & Rail Fence— 216 feet from the 


19 


do. 


3 


7 


4 


52 


3 


2 


Piazza. 


20 


do. 


2 


6 


4 


54 


9 


6 




21 


do. 


2 


3 


6 


57 


I 


2 




22 


do. 


2 


II 


4 


60 





6 




23 


do. 


2 


3 


2 


62 


4 





To a small locust— 276 feet from the 


24 


do. 


2 


3 




64 


7 




Piazza. 


25 


do. 


2 


3 


2 


66 


ID 


2 




26 


do. 




2 




67 






To a Bank— 312 feet from the Piazza. 


27 


do. 


4 


2 


I 


71 


2 


5 




28 


do. 




5 




73 


7 


5 


To the level of the Spring— at the Dairy— 


29 


do. 


2 


2 




75 


10 


5 


which is about 50 feet above high water 


30 


do. 


2 


3 


I 


78 


I 


6 


mark — 


31 


do. 


I 


6 


4 


79 


8 


2 




32 


do. 


2 


5 


5 


82 


I 


7 




33 


do. 


3 


8 


5 


83 


7 


4 


To the edge of the above Bank— 396 feet 


34 


do. 


3 


3 


6 


86 


II 


2 


from the Piazza. 


35 


do. 


2 





3 


88 


II 


5 




36 


do. 


3 


3 


6 


92 


3 


3 




37 


do. 


3 


2 





95 


5 


3 




38 


do. 


3 





4 


98 


5 


7 




39 


do. 


2 


4 


3 


100 


10 


2 




40 


do. 


2 





4 


102 


10 


6 




41 


do. 


I 


5 


4 


104 


4 


2 


To a parcel of Briers— 492 feet from the 


42 


do. 


I 


2 




105 


6 


2 


Piazza. 


43 


do. 


1 




I 


106 


6 


3 




44 


do. 


I,ev 


el. 




106 


6 


3 




45 


do. 




10 




107 


4 


3 




46 


do. 


I 


10 




109 


2 


3 




47 


do. 


2 


5 


I 


III 


7 


4 




48 


do. 




2 




III 


9 


4 




49 


do. 




9 


'6 


112 


7 






50 


do. 




5 


4 


113 





4 


To a path up the Riverside— 600 feet from 


51 


do. 




7 


6 


113 


8 


2 


the Piazza — 


52 


do. 




9 


2 


114 


5 


4 




53 


do. 


I 




4 


115 


6 






54 


do. 


I 


I 




116 


7 




To the edge of the River Bank— 648 ft 


55 


do. 


3 


6 


4 


120 


I 


4 


from the Piazza — 


High 


Water. 


4 


9 




124 


10 


4 


To highwaterMark— 660 ft. from the Piazza 



>8@="The distance in a rectangTilar line from the level of the pavement of the Piazza, to 
high water mark, is 660 feet— or 220 yards — and the elevation of it above the water 
is 124 t* io3z Inches. — 



AND PATRON OF THE USEFUL ARTS. 59 

day's sport and lending them his seine to haul for fish, to do 
with their catch as they pleased, to sell or to keep.'W 

' ' Monday October p'/' 1^86 **** * ** * * 
Allowed all my People to go to the Races in Alexandria on 
one of three days as best comported with their respective 
businesses — leaving careful persons on the plantations. ' ' 

Washington had faith in the progress of the human race 
and believed in making earnest efforts to improve not only 
man's surroundings and conditions, but also his methods of 
securing a livelihood, as well as the institutions and govern- 
ment under which they lived. To him is awarded the credit 
of the introducing into the United States the best breeds of 
that very useful animal, the mule. He also gave much atten- 
tion to improving the breeds of sheep, hogs, horses, cattle and 
dogs. 45 The following extracts from his Journal relate to his 
importation of improved breeds of some domestic animals for 
his plantations. 

44 Washington, at the time of his death, had on his several estates 317 "^ 
negroes, a list of which, with the names, ages, and sex, he had made a 
short time before. A literal copy of this meniorauda has been deposited 
in the "Toner Collection" in the Library of Congress. He owned of 
these, in his own right, 124, and had 40 others leased from Mrs. French ; 
while 153 were dower negroes, that is, were the property of Mrs. Wash- 
ington in her own right and that of her children and their heirs. Wash- 
ington in his will, after providing for the payment of his debts and for 
his wife, and before disposing of any of his property, directs in the 
following language the emancipation of his negroes : " Item Upon the 
decease of my wife, it is my will and desire, that all the slaves which I 
hold in my own right shall receive their freedom." — Then follows ex- 
press provisions for the care of the old who were past work and the chil- 
dren unable to make a living, but as the will has been frequently printed, 

it can be consulted by all desiring to do so. 

45 Washington was but little given to collecting about him a museum 
of things which were simply curious and without the merit of some use. 
He did, however, have some fancy fowls and unprofitable animals which 
were in the nature of the decorative and to entertain visitors. His deer 
Paddock and hounds he doubtless justified on the principle of entertain- 
ment and home amusements. His cash book for 1785, under date of 
March 17th, has the following ; "by freight of a swan and 4 Geese from 
Nom'y 18/." And his cash book for 1788, December 13th, has this 
entry: "By Capt Baine p'd him the freight of two Chinese pigs & 2 
Geese from Norfolk to this place 7/4." 



GO GEORGE WASHINGTON, INVENTOR 

'' Thursday Nov''. i6'f' 1786 * ******** 
* * On my return home, found Mons Campoint sent by the 
Marq? de la Fayette with the Jacks and two she Asses which 
he had procured for me in the Island of Malta, and which had 
arrived at Baltimore with the Chinese Pheasants &c had with 
my Overseer &c got there before me — these Asses are in good 
order and appear to be very fine — The Jack is two years old 
and the She Asses one three & the other two. — The Pheasants 
and Partridges will come round by Water. 

Received my Chinese Pheasants &c from Baltimore by the 
Packet viz.— A Cock & Hen of the Golden Pheas^ A Cock & 
Hen of the silver Pheas^ A Cock & two hens of the French 
Pheas^ and a French Partridge the other French Partridge 
died coming round from Baltim? " 

The expedient adopted by Washington in sowing clover, 
timothy and other small seeds broadcast to insure an even 
distribution of the seed over the ground, was to mix them with 
dry sand or ashes, so that greater bulk might be taken in the 
hand for each cast. The following entry appears under date of 

' ' Monday, Febry. 5'.^' 1787. At the Ferry the Overseer had 
begun to sow timothy seed mixed with sand in the Rye field 
on the snow, — but the sand being too wet and Clamy to do 
it regular I ordered him to desist until the sand could be 
dried. — Three gallons of Timothy .seed mixed with ashes was 
sown on Rye in the Neck on Saturday. 

''April li^ 1787 ****** In the evening one 
Young who lives on Col? Ball's place — a farmer, came here to 
see, he says my drill plow & staid all night.4^ 

46 The Mount Vernon "Store Room Book" of this date shows the 
following entries bearing upon the making of Drill Plows : 

"April 6th 1787 Gave out 200 4*^ & 100 8^ brads to Matthew for making a drill Plow. 
"April 13, 1787, " Gave out a piece of Copper Sheating to Bradkin for the Drill plow 
also 50 4"^ nails to Bradkin 50 tacks and 100 4" brass Do for Drill Plow." 

Tradition credits Washington with having invented and patented a 
plow. I have not, however, found any testimony to sustain the claim. 
But I do find the following entry in one of the " Store Books of issue " at 
Mount Vernon under date of Sept 28tti 1 787. ' 'A packing box for a plow 
model one hundred and fifty nails used in making box." Query : Was 
the model here referred to one of Washington's own invention and being 
shipped to a manufacturer or to officials granting patents ? 



AND PATRON OF THE USEFUL ARTS. 61 

'' Saturday f!^ ******* In my Botanical gar- 
den in the section immediately adjoining to & west of the Salt 
House I sowed first 3 rows of the Kentucke clover 15 inches 
apart — and next to these 9 rows of the Guinea grass in rows of 
the same distance apart. 

''April 20^!' ****** In the Neck the gr<? being 
rather hard and in places rough — two harrows could not pre- 
pare it sufficiently to keep the drill plow constantly at work. 
I therefore ordered the plowman who attended it to make good 
the work of covering the corn which the little harrow at the 
tail of it might leave unfinished and this he is well able to do, 
because where the ground is difficult to prepare he can outgo 
the harrows, and here it is assistance is wanted when the 
ground is light and the harrows prepare it sufficiently there is 
no occasion of the hoe to follow — this supercedes the necessity 
of the special hand ordered for this service on Wednesday 
last. — Where the gr*? is naturally light, or well pulverized the 
drill plow plants with great dispatch regularity and to good 
effect where it is rough and hard manual labour as in the 
common mode must be applied." 

The spirit of enquiry and desire for exact knowledge remained 
an active element in Washington's character to the close of his 
life,47 but it is nevertheless wonderful that as late as 1788 he 

47 While George Washington was a member of the House of Burgesses, 
a petition of Mr. Aaron Miller addressed to the Governor and Council 
was referred to the House, "setting forth that he had at great trouble and 
expense invented a new compass and protractor, by which an angle may 
be measured both in surveying and platting with greater Accuracy than 
by any other instrument hitherto discovered and praying such Bounty as 
the Legislature may think he deserves and the said petition was read. 
Ordered that the said Petition be referred to the consideration of Mr. 
Richard Bland, Mr. Richard Henry Lee, Mr. Wythe, Mr. Carey and Mr. 
Mercer ; that they examine into the allegations thereof, and report the 
same with their opinion thereon, to the House." {Journal House of 
Burgesses, Decb^ 6th, 1764) " Mr. Richard Henry Lee from the Committee 
to whom was referred the Petition of Aaron Miller, reported that 
they had examined the Instruments mentioned in the said petition 
and were of opinion that surveys of Land may be made and plotted with 
them with greater accuracy than any instruments of the kind they had 
ever seen or heard of ***** * Resolved, that the said Aaron 
Miller ought to be allowed the sum of ^30. as a consideration for his 
useful invention." {Journal House of Burgesses, December i^ih, 1764.) 



62 GEORGE WASHINGTON, INVENTOR 

should take the pains to count the actual number of peas and 
beans there were in a pint measure of six varieties of them, 
that he might know the quantity of ground to prepare and the 
number of hills a bushel of each would plant, as will be noticed 
from the following taken from his Diaries : — 

''Monday May 1 2^!" 1^88 * * At home all daj'. — Counted 
the number of the following articles which are contained in a 
pint — viz. — of The small & round pease commonly called Gen- 
tlemans Pease 3,144. Those bro^ from York Riv^ by MajT G. 
Washington 2,268. Those bro^ by D? from MT^ Dangerfields 
1,375. Those given by Hez^ Fairfax 1,330. I^arge and early 
black eye Pease 1,186. Bunch hominy Beans 1,473. Accord- 
ingly — a bushel of the above, allowing 5 to a hill will plant 
the number of hills w'^^ follow. — viz 

" \^} kind ------ 40243 

2 Ditto 29030 

3 — Ditto ------ 17200 

4 — Ditto - 17024 

5. Ditto 15180 

6. Ditto 18854 " 

Another inventor was rewarded by Virginia while Washington was a 
member of the Assembly for an improvement in the threshing machine. 
John Hobday of Gloucester county, Va., in 1774 by petition brought to 
the attention of the House the fact that "he had invented a Machine for 
getting Wheat out of the Ear clean and neat and with more expedition 
than could be done by thrashing, or treading with cattle, and that with- 
out loss of the chaff, or detriment to the straw ; and submitting it to the 
Liberality and Wisdom of the House to reward his endeavors to serve 
the communit}', in such manner as they may think proper. Resolved 
that the said Petition be referred to the consideration of the Committee 
of Trade ; and that they do examine the matter thereof and report the 
same, with their opinion thereupon to the House." {Journal of House 
of Burgesses, May /p'/'. 1774.) May 20th, 1774, Mr. [Benjamin] Harrison 
reported from the Committee of Trade, to whom the petition of John 
Hobday, praying to be allowed a reward for inventing a machine whereby 
wheat is got out neat and clean, &c. ******** 

" Resolved that it is the Opinion of this Committee that the petition is reasonable and 
that the said John Hobday ought to be allowed by the Public the sum of three hundred 
pounds as a reward for inventing the said Machine, and communicating to the Public the 
manner of erecting it." 

The resolution was amended by inserting one hundred instead of three 
hundred, and it passed in the aflSrmative. Washington was a competent 
judge of the utility of both these inventions. 



AND PATRON OF THE USEFUL ARTS. 63 

He also counted the number of clover, timothj' and Saint 
Foiu seed there was in a pint that he might estimate the quan- 
tity to sow upon an acre. 

During the session of the Convention that drafted the Con- 
stitution of the United States, Washington kept a brief journal 
of events, but records nothing regarding the questions discussed 
in the sessions; thus evincing scrupulous adherence to his pledge 
of secrecy. The entries show, however, that he visited numer- 
ous institutions of learning, Bartram's botanical gardens, and 
the most noted farms in the vicinity of Philadelphia. His most 
lengthy notes, however, relate to agriculture, in which he never 
lost interest.^s However, on Monday, 3d of September, 1787, 
his Diary has the following entry relating to a new machine: — 
' ' Visited a Machine at Docf: Franklins (called a Mangle) for 
pressing, in place of Ironing, clothes from the wash — Which 
Machine from the facility with which it dispatches business is 
well calculated for Table cloths & such articles as have not 
pleats & irregular foldings and would be very useful in all large 
families. ' ' 

It is probable that the activities of Washington's inventive 
genius found its favorite employment in the direction of labor- 
saving implements which ensured increased domestic comforts 
to the people. Yet his great catholic heart and enlightened 
humane sympathies led him to welcome and encourage every 

4S Washington in a letter to Landou Carter, "of Cleve," written at 
Mount Vernon 17 October, 1796, uses the following language : 

" It is true (as you have heard) that to be a cultivator of Land has been my favorite 
amuse:nent ; — but it is equally true that I have made very little proficiency in acquir- 
ing knowledge either in the principals or practice of Husbandry. My emploj'ments 
through life, have been so diversified — my absences from home have been so frequent, 
and so long at a time, as to have prevented me from bestowing the attention, and from 
making the experiments which are necessary to establish facts in the Science of Agri- 
culture. — And now, though I may amuse myself in that way for the short time I may 
remain on this theatre, it is too late in the day for me to commence a scientific course 
of experiments. Your thoughts on the mode of cultivating Indian corn, appear to me, 
to be founded in reason, — and a judicious management of the Soil for diiferent pur- 
poses, is as highly interesting too, as it has been neglected by the People of this 
country. ***** 

" I shall always feel myself obliged by your communicating any useful discovery in 
Agriculture ; and for the favorable Sentiments you have been pleased to express for 
me, I pray you to accept the thanks of 

"Sir 
" Your most obed'- and very H*^^^ servn 
"G? Washington." 



64 GEORGE WASHINGTON, INVENTOR 

measure which gave promise of lessening the heavy load resting 
upon the shoulders of the poor and the overworked and poorly- 
paid tillers of the soil. Intimately blended with his genius 
for leadership and for improving man's condition, was his 
taste and respect for the esthetics to be observed in every-day 
life which he believed not only improved habits but elevated 
character. This at times may have led some to consider him 
as reserved and overfond of ceremony. This was not the fact. 
But to a mind like his, attuned to exact justice, individual rights 
and the orderly observance of the proprieties of social life were 
sacred. 

To President Washington we are indebted for the graceful 
and convenient device of the dinner wine coaster. The history 
of its invention and first introduction may be found in a foot- 
note. ^9 The harvest horse-rake for gleaning meadows and also 

49 Mr. Lossingin his admirable book on " Mount Vernon and its Asso- 
ciations," page 263, gives in substance the following history of this inven- 
tion. The President on the removal of Congress from New York to 
Philadelphia furnished his residence in a manner to make it comfortable 
to the close of his term of office, and to do this added much new furni- 
ture and household belongings. In his efforts in this direction he ordered 
a bill of goods through Gouverneur Morris, who was then in Paris. In 
this order was some silver-plated wine coolers, an article that he had 
never used at Mount Vernon. The invoice had reached him in Virginia. 
In a letter to his secretary, Mr. Lear, Washington wrote, I quote from 
Mr. Lossing : 

" Enclosed I send you a letter from Mr. Gouverneur Morris, with a bill of the cost of 
the articles he was to send me. The prices of the plated ware exceed — far exceed — the 
utmost bounds of my calculation ; but as I am persuaded he has done what he conceived 
right, I am satisfied, and request you to make immediate payment to Mr. Constable if you 
can raise the means. As the coolers are designed for warm weather, and will be, I pre- 
sume, useless m cold, or in that in which the liquors do not require cooling, querie, would 
not a stand like that for castors, with four apertures for so many different kinds of liquors, 
each aperture just sufficient to hold one of the cut decanters sent by Mr. Morris, be more 
convenient for passing the bottles from one to another, than the handing each bottle seper- 
ately, by which it often happens that one bottle moves, another stops, and all are in con- 
fusion ? Two of them— one for each end of the table, with a flat bottom, with or without 
feet, open at the sides, but with a raised rim, as caster-stands have, and an upright, by 
way of handle, in the middle — could not cost a great deal, even if made wholly of silver. 
Talk to a silversmith, and ascertain the cost, and whether they could be immediately 
made if required, in a handsome fashion. 

" Perhaps the coolers sent by Mr. Morris may afford ideas of taste ; perhaps, too (if they 
prove not too heavy, when examined) they may supersede the necessity of such as I have 
described, by answering the purpose themselves. Four double flint bottles (such as I sus- 
pect Mr. Morris has sent), will weigh, I conjecture, four pounds ; the wine in them when 
they are filled will be eight pounds more, which, added to the weight of the coolers, will 



AND PATRON OF THE USEFUL ARTS. 65 

grain fields after the grain had been cut and gathered came into 
use about the time General Washington was President. He 
ordered two for his Mount Vernon farms. {See letter to C. 
Biddle.) And in 1797 he had a thrashing-machine erected at 
Mount Vernon. (See cash book.) 

Under date of August 2 , , 1788, we find the following: — " Vis- 
ited all the Plantations — At the Ferrj^ — six plows were turning 
in B [uck] Wheat Three of them from Frenches — Tried the 
Patent Plow sent me by Major Snowden whcli run easy and did 
good work." 

It would seem from this that there were plows patented and 
in use in Virginia before the assembling of the First Congress 
under the Constitution of the United States. This paragraph 
bears testimony also to the fact that Washington was known 
to merchants and progressive farmers as being ready and 
anxious to test new and improved implements of husbandry ; 
hence, no diplomacy was necessary to bring to his attention a 
new patent plow. 5° 

' ' Sunday November 2^ ij88. MT George Mason came here 
to dinner and returned in the Evening — After dinner word was 
bro^ from Alexandria that the Minister of France was arrived 
there and intended down here to dinner — Accordingly, a little 
before Sun setting, he (the Count de Moustiers) his Sister the 

I fear, make these latter too unwieldy to pass, especially by ladies which induces me to 
think of the frame in the form of casters." 

After quoting the President's letter descriptive of the device, Mr. Los- 
sing adds the following ; 

" Mr. Lear was pleased with Washington's suggestions and ordered a silversmith to 
make two of the caster-like frames of solid silver, and these were used upon the President's 
table on the occasion of the first dinner which he gave to the officers of the government 
and their families, foreign ministers and their families and other distinguished guests. 
Their lightness and convenience commended them, and from that time they became fash- 
ionable, under the appropriate title of coasters. Thenceforth the wine-cooler was left 
upon the sideboard and the coaster alone was used for sending the wine around the table. 
For more than a quarter of a century afterward the coaster might be seen upon the table 
of every fashionable family in Philadelphia. Few persons, however, are aware that 
Washington was the inventor of it. A roller was placed under the center of each basket 
by which the coaster is more easily sent around the table." 

An engraving showing a specimen of each of the wine coolers and the 
coaster may be seen in the work of Lossing referred to. 

50 Prior to the Federal union under the Constitution, patents were 
granted by the Assemblies of the several Colonies, as well as by Par- 
liament. 



66 GEORGE WASHINGTON, INVENTOR 

Marchioness de Bretons^ — the Marquis her Son and M^ du 
Fonts came in. 

' ' Monday j? Thermometer at 50 in the Morning — 70 at 
Noon— and 70 at Night. — A thick fog until 8 or 9 o'clock — 
Clear, Calm & exceedingly pleasant afterwards. — 

"Remained at home all day. — Col? Fitzgerald & DoctY 
Craik came down to dinner — & with the copy of an address 
(which the Citizens of Alexandria meant to present to the 
Minister) waited on him to know when he would receive it. 

" Mr. Lear went to Alexandria to invite some of the Gentle- 
men and Ladies of the Town to dine with the Count & 
Marchioness here tomorrow. 

" Tuesday — the— fourth. Thermometer at 58 in the Morn- 
ing — 75 at Noon — and 72 at Night. — Morning clear, calm and 
very pleasant. — as the weather continued to be thro' the day. 

" M": Herbert & his Lady, M^: Potts & his Lady, 'W. Lud- 
well Lee & his Lady, and Miss Nancy Craik came here to 
dinner and returned afterwards. 

" Wednesday ^^f^ Thermometer 63 in the morning — 75 at 
Noon and 73 at Night, very clear, calm, warm and pleasant all 
day. 

' ' The Minister & Madam de Bretan expressing a desire to 
walk to the new Barn — we accordingly did so — and from thence 
through Frenches Plantation to my Mill and from thence home 
compleating a tour of at least seven miles. — Previous to this, 
in the morning before breakfast I rid to the Ferry, Frenches 
D[ogue] Run and Muddy hole Plantations. 

' ' At the Ferry some of the People were clearing up the Rj^e 
which had been tread out the day before, others were digging 
Potatoes — the Plows were at work in No. 5. — 

51 Marchioness de Brienne was an enthusiastic admirer of America, a 
writer of spirit and an amateur artist of considerable skill. While at 
Mount Vernon she painted a miniature of the General from life which she 
presented to Mrs. Washington, making a duplicate for herself. {See 
Portraits of Washington by Miss E. B. Johnston.) The General in his 
Diary of October 3d, 1790, says : " Walked in the afternoon and sat about 
two Oclock for Madam Brehan [Brienne] to complete a miniature profile 
of me which she had begun from memory and which she had made ex- 
ceedingly like the original." 



AND PATRON OF THE USEFUL ARTS. 67 

" At Frenches the People were preparing the yard to tread 
out Oats which had remained in Shocks at the yard. — At 
Dogue Run — some hands were Clearing up Rye, and prepar- 
ing to lay down a bed of Wh^ — and others digging Cellar to 
store Irish Potatoes in. — The Plows yesterday & this day being 
stopped to tread out grain. — At Dogue Run — The people were 
Raising Mud for Manure — the Rye would be all in and 
covered to day — 

" Thursday 6^^'^ Thermometer 63 in the morning — 73 at Noon 
and 72 at Night. Clear calm, warm, and exceedingly pleasant. 

' ' About Nine Oclock the Minister of France, the Marchion- 
ess de Bretan and their suit left this on their return for New 
York. I accompanied them as far as Alexandria & returned 
home to dinner, — the minister proceeded to Georgetown after 
having received an Address from the Citizens of the Corpora- 
tion, 

' ' In the afternoon M^ Ferdinand Fairfax came in and stayed 
all Night." 

In his Diary January 22d, 1790, will be found the following 
entry : ' ' Called in my ride on the Baron de Poelnitz to see the 
operation of his (Winlow's) thrashing machine. The effect 
was the heads of the wheat being seperated from the straw, as 
much of the first was run through the mill in 15 minutes as 
made half a bushel of clean wheat. Allowing working hours 
in the 24, this would yield 16 bushels per day. Two boys are 
sufficient to turn the wheel, feed feed the mill and remove the 
thrashed grain after it has passed through it. Two men were 
unable by winnowing, to clear the wheat as it passed through 
the mill, but a common Dutch fan, with the usual attendance 
would be more than sufficient to do it. The grain passed 
through without bruising and is well seperated from the chaff. 
Women and boys of 12 and 14 years of age are fully adaquate 
to the management of the mill or thrashing machine." 

From intimations in letters and other parts of the journal it 
is almost certain the President sent one of these thrashers to 
his Mount Vernon Plantations. 

It would be easy to multiply examples of General Wash- 
ington's hospitality to distinguished visitors as well as experi- 
ments to promote agriculture and to devise better methods and 



68 GEORGE WASHINGTON, INVENTOR 

implements than were then in use in agriculture and the domes- 
tic arts, but I have exhausted the time at my disposal and, I fear, 
your patience ; besides which I think enough evidence has been 
adduced to make it apparent that the mind of Washington was 
pre-eminently efficient in devising expedients and all the 
essential machinery to accomplish in the shortest time and in 
the best manner, his purposes whether in the management of a 
farm, the command of an army, or the inauguration of a new 
form of Government and the administration of the affairs of a 
nation. 

The parentage, the disciplined mind, the associations and 
the pursuits of Washington, from his cradle to his grave, were 
all so admirable as to fully satisfy the most exacting require- 
ments of the highest standard of excellence in human 
character ; and each gives assurance that he was pre-eminently 
deserving of the admiration of mankind above that of any 
mortal who has ever lived. s^ Each act of his eventful life, 
the purer grows as studied, freed from the passions of the times 
in which he lived. Is it not lamentable, then, and to be deeply 
regretted that the name of George Washington, the central 
figure in all history, is not held as too sacred to be mentioned 
except with reverential praise ? He should, at least, be exempt 
from coarse and inconsiderate gibes and pert, unsavory 
inuendoes having no foundation except in the depraved 
imagination of the vulgar, incapable of appreciating the 
virtues they profane. 53 

52 A delicate and appreciative mark of respect to the memor}^ of Wash- 
ington is " the tolling of the bell " b}' all vessels passing Mount Vernon. 
This special manifestation of regard, I learn, originated with a French 
merchant vessel passing just after General Washington's death and before 
the interment of his remains. The barque placed its colors at half-mast 
and tolled its bell while passing the home of Washington, then a house of 
mourning. This unique but impressive testimony of respect seemed to 
all sea-faring men so appropriate that it was at once taken up by crafts 
of every character on the Potomac, and has been continued, without 
abatement, to this day. 

53 The Hon. George Bancroft, our most eminent student of American his- 
tory, has left us a comprehensive and just analysis of the character of the 
Father of our Republic, based upon a study of his life and times, such as 
but few writers are capable of giving to the subject. He says : 



AND PATRON OF THE USEFUL ARTS. 69 

Mount Vfernon must ever have a peculiar fascination to the 
lovers of civil liberty, to all who admire genius and have faith 
in human progress. To climb its hills, traverse its walks and 
pass the portals which sheltered the man who amplified and 
fashioned this Mansion, planned its gardens, fields and lawns 
and embellished all with choicest trees and flowering shrubs, 
seems now and ever will in some mysterious way to bring the 
appreciative visitor near the great Washington. For it was here 
the youthful surveyor, the courageous explorer, the commander 
of armies, the presiding ofiicer of conventions and the first 
President of the United States, pursued his favorite employ- 
ment of cultivating the soil. Here, the purest patriot of 
all the ages occupied his splendid talents and kept his heart 
in sympathy with the latest improvements in everything which 
tended to advance the happiness of the people and his country. 
Here lived and labored the most felicitous letter-writer in 
history, the greatest exponent of liberty guided by law, the 
defender of the inalienable rights of man, the possessor of all 
the virtues. The vitality of the Pater Patrice seems sentient 
and perpetual here — the patriot's Mecca — once the home, now 
the tomb of the Immortal Washington! 

" The character of Washington's greatness may be described, in its unity, as the 
highest wisdom of common sense ; that is to say, the largest endowment of the power 
that constitutes the highest part of the nature of man ; or, it may be described as in 
action the perfection of reflective judgment. That common sense or reflective judg- 
ment, was combined with creative and executive capacity. If he spoke, or if he wrote, 
he came directly to the point on which the matter in discussion depended ; and pro- 
nounced his thoughts in clear, strong and concise words ; if he was to act he suited his 
means, be they scanty or sufficient in the best way to his end. When America assem- 
bled its best men in a first Congress, Patrick Henry said : ' For sound judgment 
Colonel Washington is unquestionably the greatest man on the floor.' " 

The following appreciative estimate of Washington's character is from 
the pen of that astute French statesman, Talleyrand ; 

" History affords few examples of such renown. Great from the outset of his career, 
patriotic before his country became a nation, despite the passions and political resent- 
ments that desired to check his career, his fame remained imperishable. His public 
actions, and unassuming grandeur in private life were living examples of courage 
wisdom and usefulness." 



INDEX. 



Page. 

Achaean Confederacy 5 

Address from Corporation 9, 67 

Adjutant Inspector 13 

Agricultural machines 7 

Agriculture his favorite pursuit.. 38 

Albany Peas in drills 52 

Alexandria, Town of.. .31, 39, 54, 67 

Althea Trees 42 

Altitude of Mansion house 57 

American Colonies 36 

Amphictyonic Confederacy 5 

Ancient Confederacies 5 

Annual Message 8 

Apollo 39 

Apron, black silk 25 

Aquia, Village of 31 

Ariss's Ordinary 33 

Army, destitution of. 38 

Ashby, Rob't 32 

Ash Trees 42 

Askew, John 28 

Aspen Trees 42 

Atkinson, Capt 55 

Baine, Capt 59 

Ball, Col 60 

Bancroft, George 68 

Barbadoes, Island of. 13 

Barley 52 

Barley with Drill Plow 49, 51, 52 

Barrel Plow 49, 50, 53 

Bar Shear Plow 56 

Bartram, Jno 44 

Bartram's Nursery 44, 48, 63 

Bassett, Betcy 33 

Bassett, Col 33 

Bassett, Nancy 33 

Battle of Great Meadows 15 

Beans, number in a pint 62 

Belgic Confederacy 5 



Page. 

Belvoir Estate 13 

Bennet, John 33 

Beverages at dinner 30 

Black and white flags 54 

Black-eyed Pease 62 

Black Gum Trees 42 

Black Haw Trees 42, 49 

Black smithing 25 

Bland, Richard 61 

Bland, Theodric 52 

Book -presses in Study 57 

Boston, Mass 16 

Botanical Garden 61 

Bowling Green 9 

Bowly 26 

Braddock, General 16, 17, 18 

Bradkin, a carpenter 60 

Breakfast, character of 29, 30 

Brick layer 25, 54 

Brick-making 25 

Brienn^, Marchioness de 66, 67 

Brown, Capt. Giles 10 

Buck wheat 65 

Bullskin Creek 11, 33 

Burnet or Rib Grass 53 

Bushrod, Mrs 29 

Byron, Lord, opinion of 38 

Caesar 39 

Campoint, Mons 60 

Canal Navigation 34 

Candles, Experiments with 45 

Carpentering 25, 27, 28, 52 

Carter, Landon 63 

Carter's lands surveyed 32 

Cary, Mr 61 

Cary, Robert & Co 24 

Casters for wine bottles 65 

Cellar for Irish Potatoes 67 

Character of Washington 37, 68 



INDEX. 



Page. 

Chariot 8, 9 

Chastellux 28, 38 

Cherry Trees Grafted 21 

Chinese goose and gander 48 

Chinese Pigs 59 

Cincinnatus of the West 38 

Cloak for Mrs. W 25 

Clover Seed, number in a pint... 63 

Coach-house 23 

Coasters for wine bottles 65 

Colchester Ferry 8 

Coldclough, Alexander 27 

Colonial and British oflBcers 16 

Commandant of the French 14 

Command of Virginia Troops... 20 

Commerce, Foreign 4 

Commerce, to regulate 3 

Compass and protractor 61 

Confederacies, Mod'n and Anc't 4 
Congress under the Constitution 43 

Connecticut 3 

Constitutional Convention 5 

Constitution evolved 4 

Convention, personnel of. 5 

Convicts as servants 25, 26 

Conway, Rev. M. D 12 

Coopering 25 

Copyrights 6 

Corbin, Mrs. Lettice 25 

Corporation of Fredericksburg.. 9 

Craik, Dr 66 

Craik, Miss Nancy 66 

Crawford, Valentine 33 

Crisis of the Government 4 

Crown offered him 38 

Culpeper, Lord Thomas 10, 11 

Custis, G. W. P 32 

Custis, Jacky 33 

Custis, Patcy 29 

Custis, Washington 57 

Dagworthy, Capt ... 16 

Dangerfield, Mr 62 

Dawson, Capt 25 

Decanters, cut glass 64 

Deeds for lands 33 



Page. 

Deer Paddock 48, 59 

Delaware 3 

Delegate to Congress 36 

Department of State 21, 22, 44 

De Poelnitz, Baron 7, 67 

Diary of Washington 

28, 29, 30, 31, 34, 35, 41, 43, 45 

Dinner-hour 30 

Dinner, President's 65 

Dinwiddie, Gov 14, 15, 16, 18, 34 

Distilling 25 

Dodge, Mr. Superintendent 55 

Dogue Run Farm 22, 52, 67 

Dogwood Trees 42 

Dower Negroes 59 

Drained lands 33 

Drill or Barrel Plow.. .49, 50, 51, 52 

Drill Plow 60, 61 

Dudley, Wm., of Mar3dand 10 

Dulin, Mr. (Assessor) 22, 23 

Dumfries 9 

du Ponts 66 

Dutch fan 67 

Ear rings 25 

Eastern Tour 8 

Elected to House of Burgesses... 19 

Engine to take up trees 24 

Engraved crest on pewter plates 25 

Epsewasson Creek 10 

Evans, John 27 

Expedition to the Ohio 15, 18 

Experiments in Agriculture... 7, 67 
Experiments, different composts 23 
Experiments with grass seeds... 22 
Experiment to establish facts 47, 63 

Fairfax, Bryan 29, 33 

Fairfax, Ferdinand 67 

Fairfax, Hez 62 

Fairfax, Lord Thomas. ... 11, 12, 13 

Fallowed his fields 33 

Felicitous letter writer 60 

Fertilizers, experiments with 45, 47 

Ferry, accident at 8 

Ferry Plantation 51, 52 



INDEX, 



Page. 

Fishermen employed 25 

Fishing I,anding 52 

Fitted a two-eyed Plow 21 

Fitzgerald, Col 66 

Flag-stone, samples of. 55 

Flax in the "Neck" 53 

Flower Garden 41 

Flowering Shrubbery 44 

Forbes's Expedition 19 

Forest trees for ornament 43 

Fort Cumberland 16, 35 

Fort Duquesne 17, 19 

Fort La Boeuf. 14 

Fort Necessity 15 

Fowls, Fancy 59 

Fox and Hounds 28, 33 

Franklin, Dr. B 6, 63 

Fredericksburg 9, 19, 31, 32 

French Evacuate Fort Duquesne 19 

French Merchant Vessel 68 

French Settlements 14 

French's Plantation 66, 67 

Fresh water made at sea 47 

Front of the Mansion 49 

Fry, Joshua, 15, 25 

Fuller's earth or Marl 22 



Gardener's House 23, 26, 50 

Garden Gate 41 

Georgetown 67 

Georgia 3 

Germanic Confederacy 5 

Gloucester County 62 

Grafting fruit trees 21 

Great Britain 14, 20, 35 

Great Falls of the Potomac 35 

Great House 22 

Green-house... 23 

Green, Mr 21 

Greenway Court 33 

Grein, Wm., of Maryland 10 

Griffith, Rev. Mr 48, 49 

Grove at south end of house 49 

Guinea Grass 61 

Gunners employed 25 



Pag^e. 

Hair powdered 37 

Harness-making 25 

Harrison, Benjamin 62 

Harrison, Gov. of Virginia 35 

Harrowing and rolling 51 

Harrow made 24, 49, 50 

Harrow, three-hoed, invented... 53 

Harvest Horse-Rake 64 

Harvesting and seeding 29 

Hat for Mrs. W 25 

Hawkins's Translation 12 

Height of Washington 37 

Helvetic Confederacy 5 

Henry, Patrick 9, 69 

Herbert, Mr. and Lady 66 

Hobday, John, for patent 62 

Home life of Washington 57 

Hominy Beans 62 

Honey Locust 42 

Honor'd Madam 19, 31 

Horse-hoe 7 

Horse-rake 64 

Horses, fine saddle 28 

Horses overboard at Ferry 9 

House-joiner wanted 54, 55 

Hospitals for naked soldiers 38 

House of Burgesses ...28, 35, 61, 62 

Houses, list of 22 

Humphreys, Col 43 

Ice house 23 

Implements of husbandry. ...45, 56 
Improved farm implem'ts..8, 21, 29 
Improvements at Mount Vernon 40 

Inalienable rights 69 

Indentured servants 26 

Innes, Gov 18 

Institutions of learning 63 

Integrity and firmness 43 

Invalids' camp 38 

Inventive ingenuity 21, 38, 68 

Invents the drill plow 49, 50 

Invents the 3-hoed harrow 53 

Invents wine caster 65 

Irish marble •••••54> 55 

Irish potatoes 67 



INDEX. 



Page. 
Island of Malta, jacks from 60 

Jacks and asses 60 

Jackson, Major 9 

James River 35 

Jenkins, Samuel 42 

Johnston, Miss E. B 66 

Journey over the mountains 13 

Judge Andrew 27 

Kenmore House 31 

Kenner's Tavern 9. 

King's commission 16 

Kitchen 22, 23 

Knitting 25 

Knox, General 40. 43 

L,abor-saving devices 7, 24 

Ladies' Mt. Vernon Association, 20 

Lafayette, Marquis de 60 

Lavpn, west front..... 41 

Lear, Tobias (Sec'y)...57, 64, 65, 66 

Lee, Gov. Henry 8 

Lee, Lu dwell, Mr. and Lady 66 

Lee, Richard Henry 35, 61 

Lee, Thomas 9 

Lewis, Col. Fielding 31, 32, 33 

Lewis, John 9 

Lewis, Mrs. Betty 9, 31 

Lilacs transplanted 41 

Lincoln, Gen'l 47 

List of trees and shrubs 44 

Little Hunting Creek 10, 11 

Locust Trees 42, 49 

Lordship's quarters 42 

Lords of Trade 14 

London Chronicle 37 

Lossing, B. J 64, 65 

Lucerne seed sown 22 

Lux, Wm., & Bowly 26 

Lycian Confederacy 5 

Lyons, Mr 49 

McDermott, Jno 27 

Machine for clearing land 24 

Made three-hoed harrow 53 

Magnolias (S. C.) planted 49 



Page. 

Magowen, Mr 29 

Mangle for pressing clothes 63 

Mansion, height above river 58 

Mansion House farm 22 

Maple Trees 42 

Mark of respect 68 

Marl, Experiments with 47 

Marriage of Washington 19 

Marshall, Capt 32 

Mary and Martha 32 

Marj'land 3, 26 

Mason, Col. George 21, 65 

Massachusetts 3 

Mediterranean Pine Planted 21 

Mechanical inventions 3, 6 

Mercer, Capt. Geo 16, 20 

Mercer, Mr 61 

Miller, Aaron (patent) 61 

Millet seed coming up 53 

Milling 25 

Miniature of the General 66 

Minister of France 65, 66, 67 

Mississippi adventure 28 

Mississippi Valley.. 14, 28, 29, 35, 36 

Monongahela River 17, 35 

Mooriield, John 26, 27 

Morris, Gouverneur 64 

Mother and sister 31 

Mother moves to Fredericksburg 30 

Mother of Washington 19, 32 

Mother's blessing 32 

Mounds, two at gate 48, 49 

Mount Vernon 

7, 12, 13, 24, 25, 27, 31, 33 

Mount Vernon Ladies' Ass'n 10 

Moustiers, Count de 65 

Muddy Hole Plantation 

22, 49. 50, 51, 52, 53> 54 

Mud for manure 67 

Muhlenburg, General 9 

Mulberry Trees 42 

Navigation improvement 35 

Neck lace for Mrs. W 25 

Neck Plantation 53, 60, 61 

Negro Quarters 23 



INDEX. 



Page. 

Neill, E. D 17 

New and useful Inventions 8 

New Buildings at Mt. Vernon... 22 

New Hampshire 3, 57 

New Jersey 3 

New Model for Plow 21 

New Plow made 22 

Newton, Mr 52 

New York 3, 7, 43, 67 

Norfolk 52 

North Carolina 3, 43 

Oats Sowed with Barrel Plow... 

49, 50. 51, 52 

Official Notification of. 43 

Ohio Company 28 

Ohio County 19, 35 

One Century Ago 8 

One Controling head 4 

Original Patent for Mt. Vernon 10 

Ostend Marble 54 

Out Buildings, size of 22 

Ovals in West Lawn 46, 48 

Overseer's House 29, 50 

Peach Trees 48 

Peas, number in a pint 62 

Pallisades on wall 50 

Parentage of Washington 68 

Partridges, French 60 

Patent, First Issued 8 

Patent for Mt. Vernon Land 10 

Patent Law 8 

Patent Plow 60, 65 

Patent System 3, 6 

Peach Trees Grafted 21 

Pennsylvania 3 

Pen Picture of Washington 

20, 36, 37, 39 
Personal appearance of W... 20, 37 

Peter (My Smith) 21 

Pewter Plates 25 

Peyton's Ordinary 31 

Peyton's Reminiscences 17 

Pheasants from China 60 

Piazza, Flags Laid in 40, 41, 54 



Piazza to Wharf. 58 

Piscatoway, Indian Town 10 

Pitt, Wm 16 

Planting Shrubbery 49 

Plats of Early Surveys 12 

Plow, another made 23 

Plow did good work 22 

Plow, Duck-bill 21 

Plow, My Own Invention.... 22, 49 

Plows from London 56 

Plow, Two-eyed fitted 21 

Poplar Trees 42 

Portrait of Washington 39 

Portraits of the Framers 5 

Portraits of the Signers 5 

Portugal Peach Trees 48 

Potomac River 10, 12, 24, 35 

Potts, Mr. and Lady 66 

Pride of China 49 

Property in Inventions 3, 6 

Public cares 43 

Quarters, Muddy Hole 50 

Races in Alexandria 59 

Rank denied Colonial Officers... 18 

Rapid rider 28 

Receipt from Wm. Shaw 57 

Red berry 42, 49 

Red-bud Trees 42, 49 

Reflective judgment 69 

Regulations of Army 17 

Rhode Island 3, 43 

Rib grass 53 

River Farm 22 

River front 41 

Roads to the West 36 

Roller, with spikes 51 

Roller to Drill Plow 56 

Rotherham Patent Plow 56 

Rules of civility 12 

Rumney, John 55 

Rumney, Wm 54 

Rumsey, James 36 

Rye, cleaning up 66, 67 

Rye grass seed 22 



INDEX. 



Page. 

Saintfoin sowed 53, 63 

St. Clair, General 17 

Salt-house 23, 61 

Sanderson, Mr 55 

Sassafras Trees 42 

SchoonerbuiltatMt. Vernon 27, 28 

Scott, General 9 

Sedan chair 6 

Serpentine roadway 41, 42 

Serpentine walk 48, 49 

Servants borrow seine 59 

Servants, consideration for 57 

Servants go to the races 57 

Servants' Hall 23 

Servants liberated by will 59 

Servants, List of. 59 

Service berry 42 

"Settled" 31 

Shaw, Wm. (clerk) 57 

Shelby, Mrs 25 

Shepherdstown 36 

Shirley, General 16 

Shoe making 25 

Shrubbery for Mt. Vermon 44 

Siberian Wheat sowed 51, 52 

Silver pheasant 60 

Slaves 25 

Slaves hired 25 

Smoke-house 23 

Snowden, Major 65 

South Carolina 3 

Southern tour 8 

South garden gate 42 

Spaniards 36 

Sparks Jared 4, 7, 37, 54 

Spencer, Col. Nicholas 10, 11 

Spinning-house 23, 25 

Spiked roller 51 

Spotswood, General 9 

Spruce Pines 48 

Stables 23 

Stafford C. H 9, 10 

State Assembly 21, 65 

State Department 27 

Store-house 23, 60 

Slraker, Capt. Geo 26 



Page. 

Sugar Tree grove 42 

Sun dial 41 

Supreme power 38 

Swamp Magnolia 49 

Switzerland 24 

Tailoring 25 

Taliaferro, Col 8 

Talleyrand, estimate of 69 

Thatcher, Dr. James 36 

Thirteen heads 4 

Thompson, Joseph 33 

Thomson, Charles 43 

Threshing machine 7, 8, 62, 67 

Tilghman, Col 51 

Timothy seed 52, 60, 63 

Todd's Ordinary 9 

Tolling bell, passing Mt. Vernon 68 

Tomb of Washington 69 

" Toner Collection " 12, 59 

Towlston, an estate 29 

Transported convicts 25 

Trees, symmetry of. 41 

Triplet, Wm 22 

Trojan 39 

Trysting place 41 

Turbeville, Geo 25, 26 

Turkey Foot 34 

Turnips in drills 56 

Union Farm 22 

"Valley of Virginia 13 

Vegetable garden 41 

Vice Regents of Mt. Vernon 44 

"Villa" or " Cottage" 41 

Virginia 3 

Virginia Regiment 15 

Visits the Ohio 34 

"Wagon-making 25 

Walls for Pallisades 22 

Wash house 22, 23 

Washington an early riser 30 

Washington as peacemaker.. 11 ,12 
Washington as Surveyor,. 12, 13, 57 



INDEX. 



Page. 

Washington, Augustine i8, 28 

Washington buys laud 11 

Washington commis'u'd Col. 15, 19 
Washington declines command 15 
Washington elected President... 43 
Washington, G. A.... 49, 50, 56, 62 

Washington in his 19th year 10 

Washington, John Augustine 20, 31 

Washington, Judge Bushrod 20 

Washington, Letters from 

7, ID, II, 52, 54, 55, 63 

Washington, Lewis W 20 

Washington made Lieut. Col.... 15 
Washington, Major Lawrence... 

II, 13, 28, 57 
Washington, Mary, Mother of... 31 

Washington, Miss 29 

Washington ready to serve 18 

Washington, resigns as Colonel. 15 

Washington, s account books 31 

Washington's ancestors 7 

Washington's app't as Major 13 

Washington's devises 10 

Washington's Embassy 14 

Washington's farms improved .. 33 

Washington's height 20 

Washington's horsemanship 28 

Washington's inventive talent 7, 63 

Washington's Journal 15 

Washington's letter to Mother.. 19 



Page. 
Washington's notes of levelings 58 

Washington's severe service 18 

Washington's statesmanship 5 

Washington, Warner 29, 31, 33 

Washington, wife of. 

19. 25, 29, 40, 43, 59 

Water plates, crest on 25 

Webb, Isaac (servant) 26, 27 

Weedon's Hotel 32 

Weaving 25 

Weeping Willows 49 

Welch, Wakelin 56 

Western Territory 28, 36 

West lawn — 45 

West's Ordinary 33 

Wheat discharged too fast 51, 52 

White Haven flag-stone 54 

Wight, Thomas 26 

Williamsburg, Va 16, 17, 21 

Wilson, James 6 

Wine coaster 64, 65 

Wine coolers 64 

Winlow's Threshing Machine... 67 
Wythe, Mr 61 

Yazoo Company 9 

Yohoghay River 34 

Young, Mr 60 

Young, Arthur 34, 56 

Yorktown Surrender 37 



GEORGE WASHINGTON 



Inventor and Promoter of the Useful Arts. 



AN ADDRESS 



DELIVKRED AT 



IVIount Vernon, Ajiril lo, 1891, 



BY 



I. M. TONER, M. D. /^ ""7" '' \ 

<il SO-: A SEP {6 ISii2 ^.. 



i^ss 




Reprint from 

Proceedings of the Patent Centennial Congress 

Held in Washington, D. C, 1891. 



WASHINGTON, D. C: 

Press of Gedney & Roberts Co. 

1892. 



S/x>^''':; 



■t 



